I don't own the X-Men. They, and any major characters in this story, belong to Marvel, though they don't deserve them. I'm making no money off of this, either - blah, blah, blah, standard disclaimer stuff.
Thanks go out to Luba for the beta read and encouragement and to everyone who's been so great about providing feedback.
Just a Couple of Kids, After All…
Chapter 16
"Wanta drive?" Bobby asked Kitty, as they trekked back to the car.
"Nope, wanta sleep," she replied, rubbing her head, which had begun pounding again about halfway through their "meeting" with Domina. She leaned heavily against his shoulder, miming sleep, and he stopped walking.
"Are you sure you should?" Bobby asked her, concerned. "Maybe you should wait until Hank's had a chance to look at your head."
"Probably," she admitted, "but it's been hours since it happened, and the doctor there said I was ok. I've just got this lousy headache, and I'm really wiped out. How about you – are you ok to drive?" She really hoped he was, because she wasn't sure SHE was…
"Not a problem," he assured her. They reached the car, and he popped open the trunk and pulled out a twelve pack of soda. "For emergencies," he said, and popped open the top on a can of Jolt. "This stuff can keep you awake through anything."
Kitty wrinkled her nose. "I can believe that – what I can't believe is that you can actually swallow it. I tried it once during finals – that stuff is awful. I'll take my caffeine in a more traditional form, thanks!"
"Coffee?" Bobby asked.
"That too, but mostly Mountain Dew in large quantities. Or Pepsi. Or even Coke, but not that stuff."
"Acquired taste, I guess. I drank a lot of it last year during tax season." He walked around the car and opened her door, and Kitty gratefully climbed in. "All set?"
"Sure," she answered, giving him a wry smile. She settled in, putting the duffel bag they'd retrieved from the Neo on the floor by her feet, then changing her mind and adjusting it so she could rest her feet on it as Bobby got in on the driver's side.
"All right, let's go home," he said. "Think I should call them?"
"Nah – we'll get enough heat when we get there. More than enough, probably. Why subject yourself to it in advance?" Kitty reasoned.
"My kind of attitude," he said approvingly. "Never do today what you can put off 'til tomorrow."
Kitty let out a snort of appreciation, and settled down into her seat, determined to fall asleep. Instead, her mind started replaying their meeting with Domina.
She'd been, without question, one of the most overbearing people Kitty had ever met. She never apologized, never even seemed to feel guilty about having broken into their computer system let alone imprisoning them. Apparently, this was all justified by her assertion that this was "a time of crisis." She had, grudgingly, congratulated them on how quickly they had escaped the cell, commenting that she'd expected it to take spikes at least twice that long, and probably longer, and that their actions, recorded by cameras in their cell and in the hallways, had been "more than adequate" to recommend them as allies. Amazingly, she'd seemed most impressed with them capturing and interrogating Seth.
But once Kitty had gotten past her demeanor and her half-insult compliments, she'd realized that Domina was a woman, no, a leader, who'd been pushed to her limits and past them. Nothing in her life had prepared her or her people for their current state. Her people turned to her for answers, and she had none to give them. When you added in that she had lost better than half her family as a result of the High Evolutionary's actions, and that she tended to lay the blame at his feet and that of the mutant community equally, it was a sure sign of her desperation that she was willing to speak with them at all.
Kitty could now understand why Bobby had taken care of X-Factor's PR; he had a natural flair with people, and had even gotten Domina to smile a few times. She'd been relieved to answer only the technical questions, leaving the rest to him; while she'd normally be more assertive, her adrenaline rush had run out, leaving her achey and exhausted. Opening her eyes a bit now, she realized the sun was high in the sky, and closed them again. No wonder she was exhausted. Aside from the period spent unconscious last night, she'd been awake for over 36 hours, and hadn't slept much the night before. She wondered how Bobby was managing.
In any case, there wouldn't be any sleep awaiting them at the mansion, unless Hank dragged her off to the infirmary, which was sounding more and more attractive. Especially once they told the other X-Men to expect company the next day.
They'd tried to stall; to convince Domina to let Jean contact them and set up a time for a meeting, to get Jean on the phone and let them decide on a mutually advantageous time, but she'd refused. They were the ones she'd tested, and they were the ones she wanted to deal with. Finally, they'd agreed that Domina and advisors of her choosing should come to the mansion the next day, bringing with them Seth, as someone who was experienced at dealing with flats and spikes, and Domina and the others insisted on calling them. Kitty winced at the thought of Jean's reaction, but Domina had declined to let them leave until a meeting time was set, and it wasn't like the Neo didn't know all of their secrets already. Still, she could picture the fall-out on this. An extended stay in the med lab was sounding more and more attractive.
She half-opened her eyes, and glanced over at Bobby to see how he was doing. Amazingly, he didn't even look tired, which seemed totally unfair until she noticed the tell-tale circles under his eyes. He'd been awfully quiet – well, for Bobby at least – since they'd talked with Seth, and she wondered what was bothering him.
"You awake?" Bobby asked softly.
"Yeah, can't get to sleep. My body wants to, but my brain is racing," she answered, yawning.
"I know what you mean," he replied. "It wasn't what I expected."
"What wasn't?" Kitty asked drowsily.
"The whole mission. We went, we got captured, we broke out, and we ended up serving as ambassadors of the mutant community. No too bad, for a couple of kids," he said lightly, reaching over to put his hand on hers.
"Yeah well, we'll see what Jean has to say about that," Kitty replied, and felt her head nodding.
"Whatever," he shrugged "She's going to be mad, we know that already. We did good. Umm, Kitty, I wanted to talk to you about, well – hey, are you asleep?" Bobby asked.
Kitty didn't answer.
"Shit. That was totally unfair of you, hon – you can't go to sleep when I finally get up the nerve to talk to you," Bobby said quietly, chuckling to himself. "Maybe this is better, though; I get a trial run.
"I really should wake you up, I think. No, I know I should. I know the Neo's doctor did that thing with the light and your eyes, and said you didn't have a concussion, and I know you say you're fine, but I'll feel better once Hank confirms it. I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you.
"You're really incredible, you know it? I couldn't believe how you got us out of that cell. Loved watching you do it, too, I never knew anyone who could move like that. It seems like you can do anything you put your mind to, and yet you're so quiet about it no one notices. You know what I mean? No, of course you don't, you're asleep," he said, rolling his eyes up and shaking his head at his own question. "But I know what I mean. And I notice, even if no one else does. Don't know how they can miss it, though. Maybe they're just seeing what they expect to see.
"I've got lots of experience with that one. But you know that, right? Everyone sees Bobby Drake, class clown. For a long time, I thought that was all there was, too. But now – well, I'm hoping you see more than that, that there's more than that to see. And that you like whatever that is.
"Because, well, Kitty – I think I'm falling in love with you. No, actually, I'm pretty sure of it. But I'm don't know if I should say anything. I mean, I'd rather have you as a friend than not at all, and if you don't feel the same way, well – oh shit, if this is this hard to get through when you're asleep, how am I going to do it again when you're awake?"
"You don't have to Bobby," Kitty said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
"Huh?" Bobby jumped, nearly swerving out of his lane and narrowly missing a car in the next one. The driver honked at him angrily, and he straightened the car out.
"I, I – oh shit," he stammered. He wondered vaguely if there was some way to crawl in a hole in the ground while driving a car, and decided the floor might possibly be close enough if he could pull the floor mat over his head.
"Bobby?" he heard, and he glanced over at Kitty, who was smiling at him.
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you too."