A/N: YES! This series is FINALLY back on! I'm soooo sorry for the long delay, but I got focused on other projects and let this one slide. I'm determined to finish it next so hopefully the final chapters will get uploaded soon after this one, though I've not yet started them. *cringe*
In regards to this chapter, it pretty much just happened. I began it with the intention of making it a mushy moment filled Lancitty fluff fest, but the funny stuff started coming out and growing until I realized I had to make it the focal point of the chapter, retitle it with a different line from the song that originally chosen and upload it.
Hope y'all enjoy!
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Too Young For Growing Up Just Yet
Groaning from the consumption of too much popcorn, funnel cake, hot dogs, french fries, nachos, cotton candy and ooey gooey candy apples, Kitty and Lance leant against one another as they laughingly strolled arm in arm back to his Jeep.
Wrapped in Kitty's free arm was her now official favorite toy of all time, the big stuffed Tweety he'd won for her at the ball throw booth. Lance's free arm carried the Bug Bunny toy he'd won her not too long after the first prize – once again with the intent of showing up Scott who'd still not won Jean her Clifford.
Remembering how her guy had jokingly offered to win the toy for Jean and Cyclops' infuriated response, Shadowcat couldn't hold back the giggle she felt building as she snuggled against Lance's shoulder.
"You're so beautiful when you laugh," he said as he drew to a stop next to his vehicle and looked down into her happy face.
"That's good 'cause I laugh a lot with you and it'd be bad if I got all scrunched up and ugly when I did it," she teased as she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.
"Like you could ever be ugly," he assured her with a smile as he ran a callused hand over her cheek and into her hair.
His stare was so tender and loving that she blushed under it and shyly dropped her gaze to the ground.
"We should, like, head back to the mansion now. I think we're the absolute last ones to leave," she twisted the toe of a shoe into the pavement of the parking lot then gave him a little look out of the corner of her eye.
Not bothered at all by the change in subject, he turned to open the passenger side door then help her up into it. After she settled into the seat and strapped herself in he handed her her Bugs toy and with another giggle she clutched the two prizes in her lap as he shut the door and rounded the Jeep.
Unable to resist he leant over and kissed her cheek once he was in the drivers seat before buckling up his seat belt and putting his keys in the ignition.
Skin tingling from the rather unexpected smooch, she looked at the clock on his dash as he started the engine then looked up at him.
"Looks like there's still over an hour before curfew," he turned to meet her stare with a slight smile, "wanna maybe, like, take me up to the lookout?"
With an eager smile he faced forward, put the vehicle in gear and quickly had them on their way toward Bayville's favorite makeout location.
Only to find that lots of couples had decided to top off their carnival festivities with a little fun there to end the night.
Sighing with disappointment they exchanged sad smiles as the presence of others spoiled their spontaneous plans.
Just before Lance made to turn around and take her to the mansion, though, Kitty spotted something out of the corner of her eye and gasped. With an all out laugh of surprise she stopped him from leaving by yanking on his arm to get him to look in the direction she was staring.
"Looks like goggle boy's getting some," Avalanche smirked as his slightly surprised brown eyes saw Scott's red and white Corvette rocking between two other parked cars with the top up and windows very fogged up.
She tried to give him a reprimanding look for his continuing dislike of her friends, but spoiled it by giggling uncontrollably at his words. "Goggle boy" was just too accurate an insulting nickname not to be funny whenever she heard it.
"Wanna give 'em a scare?" he asked with a wicked half smile of his sexy lips.
"Lance, they're my friends," she bit her lower lip looked at the steamed up windows of the older X-Man's vehicle then was unable to suppress the mischievous imp inside her that was clapping giddily over the suggestion. "What have you got in mind?"
~*~*~
Though it had been hard to drive for laughing, Lance finally brought his Jeep to a stop in a nice hidden spot in some trees outside the institute's fencing.
Kitty, who had almost spoiled the whole joke with her uncontrollable giggles, remained double over in the passenger seat laughing breathlessly with tears streaming down her face. He'd ask if she were ok, but any time he'd tried to say something to her as they raced down the mountain just ahead of an undoubtably furious Scott she'd look at him and choke out something like "That was, like, priceless," then start laughing even harder.
With a satisfied smirk he listened to his girlfriend's delighted laughter and sank back in his seat to think back on that priceless moment.
~*~*~
After finally finding the flashlight he'd begun to think he'd imagined had ever been in his vehicle, Lance had pulled the Jeep into a vacant spot and turned off the lights and ignition. Confident that everyone was too preoccupied to think of messing with his ride, he'd left the keys in place for a quick getaway and signaled for Kitty to get out with him.
Just thinking of what they were sneaking around these parked cars full of hormonal teens to do had had his girlfriend snickering then covering her mouth with both hands to stifle such sounds and giggling uncontrollably behind her impromptu gag.
He'd given her a warning glance once to try and get her to quiet down, but seeing her like that – her eyes twinkling with mischief and her hands childishly trying to silence the noise she made – had been enough to make him laugh out loud and he couldn't risk another look now that he was back under control.
Knowing Jean was a telepath, he'd been sure the redhead would sense them coming and their intentions a mile away and totally have Cyke ready to surprise them when they made their move, but as he and Kitty had seen the other girl was … preoccupied.
Once positioned at the driver's side door of Summers' car he'd mouthed over the rag top to Kitty at the passenger side to go on the count of three.
She'd bit on the insides of her mouth to stop the giggle he saw in her blue eyes and nodded rapidly to signal she was good to go and he mouthed the number one.
He turned on the flashlight he carried and was thrilled to find its beam very bright before he counted out two.
They both slid their hands under the door handles so they could each yank a door open when he hit three and then he said aloud, "Three!"
With a giddy shriek, Kitty had yanked open the passenger door while Lance tore open the driver's side to shine the flashlight in on the couple as he asked in his most authoritative tone, "What are you kids doing in here?!"
The light he held showed both Kitty and himself exactly what goody goodies Jean and Scott had been doing in the front seat of Cyclops' sporty car no less.
Stunned all four of them had frozen and Shadowcat's giggles had stopped as she stared wide eyed at the Professor's favorite pair of students.
"What is your hand doing?" she'd finally broken the silence to disbelievingly demand of Jean.
Caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar, the redhead had blushed furiously and tore her hand away from Scott's lap so quickly the boy cried out in a bit of pain.
Having gotten more from the plan than he'd ever thought they would, Lance made the excellent decision to run around the car and grabbed his still gaping girlfriend to drag her to his Jeep as the embarrassed couple in the Corvette quickly fastened and righted their clothes.
It was as he was shoving Kitty into the passenger seat of his vehicle that they both started laughing at what they'd seen and how Jean and Scott had reacted to their interruption.
Chances were the couple was gonna make both their lives very hellish for weeks – possibly months – to come, but as Lance had sped away from the lookout point he knew it was worth it. Even the sight in his rearview mirror of Scott's car starting up and quickly giving chase had added to his utter enjoyment of the whole event. Kitty must have felt the same because the second she'd realized the other couple was following them she given an excited squeal before doubling over with laughter.
~*~*~
"Maybe I should, like, go to the boarding house with you tonight?"
"As good an idea as that sounds, for very male reasons on my part, I gotta say it's a bad idea. You're just gonna have to face the music," Lance smiled as he answered the half-joking question his girl had asked him.
"Music I can face. Angry teammates out to kill me for crashing their private party with one of their not-so-favorite Brotherhood mutants … I, like, totally need a place to hide," she said as she turned in her seat to return his smile.
Her expression was such an adorable mix of humor and actual worry that their little prank was going to seriously backfire, that he followed his instincts and moved in to give her a reassuring kiss.
Which quickly became a kiss kiss when she gave a little sigh, slid a hand into his shaggy brown hair and returned the kiss.
With a creaking of the seats they shifted closer together in the front of his parked Jeep, wrapped their arms around each other and deepened the kisses.
It was no where near the makeout session they'd broken up between Goggle boy and Red, but it was getting there. Breathing was growing rapid, hands were exploring, lips were locking on lips and cheeks and ears and necks and back on lips with increasing hunger while moans and groans spilled from the young couple.
Just as Lance had worked up the nerve to slide a hand down his girlfriend's body then begin slowly moving it back up between her legs they were both covered by a splash of ice cold water as a bright light was shone in their slow to open and dazed eyes.
"And what are you kids doing in here?" Jean asked with her hands perched sternly on her hips and a red eyebrow arched up high as she glared in on them from the passenger side of the vehicle.
Only slightly shamefaced, Lance and Kitty looked from the redhead over to Scott who was clearing glaring at them behind the lenses of his ruby red shades as he stood next to the driver's side door with his back rigidly straight and his arms crossed angrily over his chest.
There was something so childishly self-righteous about both their stances that the couple in the Jeep made the youthful mistake of laughing at them.
Any playfulness that had been in Jean's attitude vanished and she huffily used her telekinesis to lift Kitty's new stuffed animals from the Jeep and thrust toward Scott as she yanked open the passenger door and pulled the Shadowcat out of the vehicle.
A totally smitten kitten turned in the telepath's firm grasp to blow her boyfriend a kiss and signal for him to call her.
Resting his chin on the headrest at the back of the driver's seat Lance watched his girl be led away by the two X-Men and, knowing Scott was watching closely as he trudged along behind Jean and Kitty, he smirked gave Kitty a wink and made a few vaguely obscene gestures with his tongue in her direction.
Nearly falling over a tree root stuck up from the ground as his actions made her laugh delightedly, Kitty mouthed the words "I love you" to him over her shoulder before picking up the pace of her footsteps away from him to avoid Jean's yanking her arm out of her socket.
"Scott, ignore him," the redhead ordered over her shoulder as she noticed how her boyfriend had stopped to glare menacingly at Avalanche for the tongue thing.
Finally the trio was gone from sight and with a contented sigh for a wonderful night spent with the girl of his dreams, Lance turned in his seat, started his vehicle and headed for home.
Even the fact that the fabric covered seat he sat on was as soaked as much as the clothes he wore from Jean and Scott's little retaliation did nothing to put a damper on his good mood.