I don't own the X-Men. They, and any major characters in this story, belong to Marvel, though they don't deserve them, and if they don't wrap up the current Uncanny storyline to my satisfaction I'm planning on kidnapping Bobby. 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 25

Hank wandered down the hallway dejectedly, muttering to himself.  When he'd left the lab after spending what seemed like all day listening to non-stop accusations and complaints from Moira, he'd planned on visiting his room and catching up on some much-needed sleep, but he suspected he was far too wound up to fall asleep immediately, especially since the morning sun would be shining in through his window.  Instead, he stopped at the room next door and knocked.

"Bobby?" he asked when there was no immediate response.  "Are you awake, or willing to attain that state?  I wondered if I could bother you for a time…"  He heard some indistinct sounds from within, lending credence to his belief that Bobby was, in fact, inside, and added plaintively, "Please, Bobby?  After listening to recriminations from Jean and tirades from Moira, I would welcome some friendly conversation."

"Yeah, ok already, come on in," he heard Bobby say finally as he unlocked the door and opened it.  Hank had only a second to wonder why Bobby had had the door locked when he saw the answer; Kitty, clad in one of Bobby's t-shirts, a blanket covering her legs, her hair still tousled from sleep. 

"G'morning, Hank," she said, smiling, and he realized his jaw was hanging open.

"I – uh, that is, I'm sorry…"

"Mark this day on the calendar, Kit – Hank's finally at a loss for words," Bobby quipped, patting Hank on the shoulder.  "What's up?  Come on in, sit down," he added, gesturing to the table near the foot of the bed, and pulling up a chair there himself.  "It's ok – we were more or less awake anyway, which makes your timing a hell of a lot better than most of the mansion's."

Still amazed by the scene he'd walked into, Hank shook he head.  "No, it isn't important.  I simply wanted to vent; Moira appears to have inadvertently misplaced a potentially dangerous and certainly invaluable sample she brought with her from Muir Island for my further analysis.  No doubt she left it in Muir; I know I don't have it, despite her accusations."

Kitty laughed.  "Yeah, Moira can really go off the handle, especially if she thinks there IS a chance that she's responsible and is trying to pass the buck.  I remember one time she had everyone in Excalibur tearing apart Muir Island for her missing computer disks, which she insisted someone walked off with.  They turned up in her disk-case, misfiled.  But you should know better than to take Moira's tirades seriously; she always gets crabby when she's tired.  "

"No doubt you're correct," he said smiling, and walked to the door, then turned back to face Bobby and Kitty.  "I apologize again for the interruption," he said as he opened the door. 

Walking down the hallway, he paused for a moment and grinned.  If nothing positive was happening in his life, at least Bobby appeared to be having a good week.

******************************

"Well, THAT was certainly an interesting wake-up call," Bobby was saying as he came back to the bed and plopped down next to Kitty, who smiled and lay back down as well.

She was wearing the t-shirt he'd worn the day before; it had been the first thing at hand when Hank had knocked on the door and she'd quickly thrown it on while he'd pulled on his jeans, which had also been lying next to the bed.  She briefly considered pulling it back off but decided against it; she'd been more bold than she was accustomed to being the night before.  If Bobby wanted it off, he was more than welcome to make the first move.

Instead, he turned and looked at her, smiling, but with a serious look in his eyes.  "Kitty…" he began saying, then paused.  "I just wanted to tell you – to thank you, I guess – for last night.  You're incredible," he added, lightly brushing her face with his fingers, and she felt her face grow warm and knew she was blushing.  "I've been wanting this since the day I met you, but I wasn't sure.  I mean, I just didn't want to rush things.  Not that I'm saying we did," he added quickly, grabbing her arm as she began to sit up.  "Don't get me wrong – I'm not complaining.  Anything but!  But there's something I wanted to talk about, first…"

"Don't worry about it, Bobby," she said, still irritated but mostly at herself.  Had she rushed things?  It was hard to remember they'd only known each other for about a week; it seemed so much longer, mostly, she supposed, because so much had happened in that time.  And, she had to admit, the idea of having sex with Bobby without having to worry about accidentally turning intangible had sounded really attractive, especially after her conversation with Rogue had brought it to the front of her mind.  But it really hadn't been about that, and she knew it.  Despite her fears, despite her refusal to admit it to herself, she'd fallen in love with Bobby Drake.  She felt tears form in her eyes, and quickly blinked them away. 

"Kitty?  I didn't mean…"

"No, you're right, this was a mistake," she said, getting up and grabbing her clothes off the floor.  "I didn't think things through – I just knew I wanted this, and figured you did too.  I'm sorry…" she added, as she hurried to the door.

"Damn it, Kitty, that isn't what I meant!" Bobby said, jumping out of bed and grabbing her arm.  "I DID want this, you know I did.  I just wanted to be sure it was for the right reasons…"

"Yeah, well, maybe it wasn't, ok?" she replied irritably without looking at him, fighting to keep both her temper in check and her tears from flowing, and knowing she was failing miserably.  "Maybe I wouldn't have rushed things if I hadn't known we'd probably be mutants again really soon."

"What do you mean?  Oh shit, did Rogue tell you?  I wanted to tell you – I tried to," Bobby stammered.  "Is that was this was all about?  You felt sorry for me?"

"No," Kitty replied angrily, trying to pull her arm out of his grip, and not succeeding.  She knew she could force the issue; she doubted Bobby was her equal in the martial arts, but despite her bruised feelings she didn't want to hurt him.  Or at least, not much.  "Is that what you think of me?  Oh, never mind - it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters!" Bobby said with so much pain in his voice that she turned back to look at him.  "Damn it, Kitty, at least let me explain!  Last night – well, last night was probably the best night of my life!  Don't leave, please?  At least listen to me first, ok?"

"I'm listening," she said, turning all the way around to face him.  He let go of her arm, and she stood, her arms crossed in front of her, refusing to meet his eyes.  He sighed, and continued.

"Kitty, I don't know how much Rogue told you about – well, about my relationship with Opal.  It was a disaster waiting to happen, anyway, but my being a mutant made it that much worse.  She wanted to date Bobby Drake, but she didn't want to deal with the fact that Bobby Drake was also the Iceman.  She didn't like the danger, she didn't like the reminder that her OWN family wasn't quite normal, and she didn't want to deal with the whole thing.  And she didn't have much choice.

"I was wearing a power-inhibitor then, did you know that?  Had a trip to Asgard that – well, my powers were kinda out of control, to make a long story short.  The Right captured me not long after that, and put a belt on me that was supposed to inhibit my powers.  All it did was give me back the control I'd lost.  So I kept it – was wearing it 24/7 in fact, under my street clothes when necessary, which wasn't easy since it was about the size of a WWF championship belt.  Just so I'd keep from freezing anyone when my emotions got the least bit out of control."

"Bobby, I –" Kitty tried to interject, but he cut her off.

"You said you'd listen.  Please?" he pleaded.  She nodded, and he continued.  "So anyway, I met Opal not too long after that.  We dated a while, and when we finally went back to her place one night, I didn't give any thought to my powers, or the affect they'd have on anything.  I mean, when Lorna and I dated, it hadn't been an issue, but that was before my power enhancement.  I found out about the difference soon enough, though," he said, grimacing.  "Needless to say, it was our last date.  A case of I called, but her answering machine was working overtime, you know?  The next time I saw her was when she was under attack by the Phalanx.  She told me she didn't want to see me again.  Called me a lot of other things, too," he remembered, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, I figured that was it.  I mean, who'd want to date a human icicle with performance issues?  But when we all got de-mutantized, it seemed like another chance.  And then I met you," he said with such warmth and sincerity that Kitty felt her heart melt a little.  "And you were gorgeous, and brilliant, and funny, and I wanted you so much it hurt.  But I didn't want to screw it up again, can you understand that?"

"Better than you might imagine," she said, thinking of her own list of failed relationships.

"And I knew I had to tell you, especially after things started rolling with the plans to shut down the High Evolutionary's setup, but I didn't want you to feel any pressure, and it was easier just to pretend we had all the time in the world, which we do I guess, but it won't ever be the same…"  Bobby was babbling by this point, and Kitty finally understood what he was trying to say, and realized it was much the same thing Rogue had been saying the other night.

"You wanted to make love because we wanted to, not just because we had the opportunity," she said, dropping her arms to her sides, and Bobby looked relieved.

"Yeah," he said, taking a deep breath.  "And I did want to, Kitty.  Not just because we could, but because I love you.  That's what I was trying to say before.  And I wouldn't change anything that happened last night.  But…"

"Bobby?"

"What?"

"No buts, ok?" she said, pressing her finger to his lips.  "We're both mutants, we'll handle any 'problems' when and if we have to.  Besides, I can handle a little cold, if you," she paused and lowered her voice, "can handle me dropping through the bed if I lose control."  She saw his eyes widen, and could see he was trying to keep from laughing.  She mock-glared at him for a second, then smiled, knowing that things were going to be ok after all.  Then she took a deep breath, and mustering her courage, continued.

"Besides, I did want to.  Not because I felt sorry for you, or because I didn't want to miss the opportunity.  But because I love you too."

**********************************

An hour or so later, Bobby and Kitty reluctantly dragged themselves out of bed.

"So, what's on your agenda for the day?" Bobby asked as he gathered his shower stuff together.

"Hmm? Kitty asked, standing up and looking around the floor, and Bobby realized she'd been peering under the bed, trying to find her missing shoe.  "Oh, I've got a planning meeting with Seth and Douglock, and the big one this afternoon with everyone.  You?"

"Just the big one, unless Jean squeezes me into her schedule before that," he shrugged.  "She wants to go over some stuff, but she's pretty well booked up with the Neo." He walked over to where Kitty was still looking for missing articles of clothing, her back turned to him, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.  "Sure you can't skip out?" he joked. 

"Nah, if I'm not there Seth'll talk Douglock into infecting all the satellites world-wide with a critical virus, just to see what would happen," Kitty answered, laughing as she broke free of his embrace.  "But I'll see you at the meeting later, ok?" she said, turning around and kissing him soundly before picking up the rest of her clothes from his bed and walking toward the door.

"Are you going out like that?" he asked, gesturing at his t-shirt that she was once again wearing, inwardly pleased that she wasn't trying to hide what had happened between them.

"I kinda doubt anyone'll be surprised," she responded lightly, shrugging.  She turned to look at him, and he laughed at the glint of devilishness in her eyes.  "Besides, might as well feed the mansion gossip-mill, right?" 

"I'm in favor," he replied in the same vein.  "Want me to walk you back to your room?" he offered, dropping the bathrobe he'd been starting to put on and standing there in his shorts, his eyebrows raised.  She laughed, but shook her head.

"No, I think I can manage," she replied as he snapped his fingers, feigning disappointment.  He did walk her to the door, however, and opened it for her. 

"See you later," he said, and kissed her goodbye.  He stood in the doorway, watching her walk down the hallway until she turned the corner, but just as he was about to go back in the door next to his opened, and Hank peeked out.

"I assume your companion has made her departure?" Hank said, his eyebrows raised. 

"What, are you telepathic now?" Bobby asked.

"No, not at all," Hank assured him.  "But you may have forgotten, or perhaps never realized, just how thin the wall between our respective domiciles is."

Bobby could feel his face redden, and knew Hank was aware of it as well as the latter began laughing, then walked over and clapped Bobby on the shoulder.  "I was joking, Bobby, though I did hear your door open, and made my assumptions based on your presence in the hallway.  In all actuality, I was just about to adjourn to the kitchen; would you care to join me?  Due to circumstances largely beyond the control of either of us, we've scarcely had opportunity to talk during your visit."

Bobby thought about it for a moment, then nodded.  "Just let me catch a quick shower and I'll join you," he promised.  Hank nodded, and Bobby went back into his room to grab his shower kit.

He whistled on his way to the bathroom, and was only slightly taken aback by Piotr's presence in the shower area.  Piotr glared at him, and Bobby unconsciously braced himself for a confrontation, but when Warren entered as well he just turned and stormed out of the bathroom.  Bobby breathed a sigh of relief.  He hadn't considered Kurt's warning the night before; he and Kitty probably should have gone back to her room, or better still, found somewhere else to spend the night.  At least Piotr had apparently been in the shower when Kitty'd left his room this morning. 

In the shower, he gave some thought as to the afternoon's meeting between the X-Men and the Neo, where the plans for the "attack" were to be presented.  He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of being sent as an "ambassador", even though he knew a team of the X-Men and the Neo would be there as well.  It was a far cry from any role he'd played on any team he'd been with before, and truth be told, he was scared.  He wondered how the other X-Men would take the news.

In the meantime, though, he had some time on his hands.  He reflected on the constructive things he could do with that time; he could worry about the upcoming confrontation with the High Evolutionary, or analyze some more of the data on the Neo, or even visit the Danger Room for a workout.  None of them sounded attractive, and with a sudden burst of rebellion against his newfound maturity, he decided he was taking a vacation day.  Or a half day, he had to concede, as he had to be at the meeting that afternoon.  After all, that's why he had come to visit, wasn't it? 

So he had a leisurely brunch with Hank, chatting about his friend's research, his own accounting business, and everything else that was going in their lives.  He'd feigned ignorance when Hank confided in him about the lethal cure to Legacy, but chuckled along with him when Hank described Moira's reaction to her "missing" sample, which Hank still insisted she must have left behind at Muir.  When he left the kitchen, he bumped into Rogue, and they'd played some one-on-one basketball (she'd won) before being ambushed by Cailin and Diego, who'd somehow (he suspected Jubilee's involvement) gotten hold of some SuperSoakers.   He'd finally grabbed one with each arm and tried to hold them still while Rogue turned the hose on all three of them, reflecting that he, at least, couldn't get any wetter than he already was.  Heading back upstairs, he'd run into Jubilee, and was dragged into her room, still dripping, and treated to a detailed description of every conversation she'd had with Seth to date.  After he finally managed to assure her that it did sound as if Seth liked her, he'd finally dripped his way back to his room, where he began drying off and getting ready to change his clothes for the meeting.

Humming to himself, he decided that aside from the brief misunderstanding with Kitty this morning, it had been a really good day thus far.  All in all, it had seemed like a typical vacation with the X-Men, the kind he'd been planning when he'd first arrived the week before.

Well, aside from the way it had started off.  But he really wasn't complaining about how that had turned out.

He grinned, pulling a comb through his hair, and looked at his reflection in the mirror, trying to puzzle out exactly what it was Kitty saw in him.  Shaking his head, he gave it up as a lost cause – he only hoped her sanity didn't return any time soon. 

"She loves me," he thought to himself, still amazed.

For the first time in a long time, he actually considered returning to the X-Men, when and if they were successful in regaining their powers.  Things here had changed; he was really enjoying the new respect he was receiving from his teammates, and it would be good to be with Kitty…he really didn't like the idea of being away from her just as their relationship was beginning to get serious.  He thought about it for a couple of minutes, as he collected the papers he wanted to take with him to the "big meeting".  Finally, he shook his head.  He'd made a life for himself outside the X-Madhouse, and while he would always be there for his friends if they called, he had no real desire to put on spandex full time again.  Not even for Kitty.  If their relationship was going to last, they were going to have to work out the long-distance aspects.

"Or," a tiny voice in his head whispered, "you could ask her to move in with you."

He was so surprised by the idea that he nearly dropped the papers he'd gathered, and had to scramble to catch them all before they fell to the floor. 

"It's too soon," he told himself firmly.  "We've known each other all of what? A week?"  But the idea was too attractive to dismiss altogether, and he found himself looking forward to moving into the small apartment that would be his at the beginning of the month, his credit check and application having been approved just before he went on vacation.

Humming, Bobby set off to the meeting, papers in hand.

******************************

When Kitty entered the conference room, she scanned the crowd of people mulling around for Bobby, and was disappointed to see he wasn't there yet.  Kurt caught her eye and grinned, raising the glass he was holding in a silent toast, and she suspected the mansion gossip mill had quickly percolated the most recent update to her and Bobby's relationship.  She smiled back, and began making her way through the throng to join him when she was stopped by a young blond woman.  It took her a moment to recognize her as Amarantha, since she'd never seen her without face paint before, but the resemblance to Cailin quickly confirmed her initial impression.

"Excuse me, Katherine?  Do you have a moment?" Amarantha asked.

"Sure, and it's Kitty," she replied, as they walked companionably toward the side of the room.

"I was just wondering about something.  I'm unfamiliar with your customs, but Seth has spoken of you often, even before our people met, and I feel as if I know you.  Jubilee is your sister?"

"Well, not really," Kitty answered, laughing.  "But we're both informally Logan's 'daughters', so we tend to call each other that.  Why do you ask?"

"I was curious as to what her intentions were with regards to my brother," Amarantha said seriously.  "Is she seeking an informal alliance, or something more permanent?  I ask," she continued quickly as Kitty stood dumbfounded, "not as an insult to your sister, but as my brother's nearest kinswoman.  Unlike many of the Neo, I have no real prejudice against spikes, but I am, as I said, unfamiliar with your ways, just as you are with ours.  Among our people, if she were planning a formal relationship, she would discuss it with me before approaching Seth; I'm unsure if the same rules apply among spikes."

"Planning a formal…" Kitty stuttered, still in shock.  "Doesn't Seth have a say in it, then?"

"Of course," Amarantha said, looking equally surprised.  "He can accept or reject her proposal, whichever he prefers!  But it would be my decision as to whether or not the proposal could be made.  And yours, of course, unless Jubilee's mother is still living."

"Oh, umm, I see," Kitty replied.  "Well, I haven't discussed it with her, but I don't think Jubilee is looking for a permanent relationship at this point.  If you'd like, I can ask her…"

"When it's convenient," Amarantha assured her, then eyed Kitty curiously.  "I trust I haven't offended you?  I realize Seth has been infatuated with you for some time, but it didn't sound as if you returned his interest, and you seem to be – attached – in any case."

"Oh no," Kitty quickly reassured her.  "That is yes, I am attached, and no, you didn't offend me.  You did take me by surprise – we do things somewhat differently.  I'm curious, though – why would you ask me rather than Logan?"

She had to keep from laughing at the astonished look that appeared on Amarantha's face.  "Why would I ask Logan?  You're her nearest female relative, as I understand it, even if it is only by fosterage.  Her espousement would be your concern, not his, at least until he formalizes his own union with Jean.  Even then, I would be speaking with her, not him.

Kitty had a mental image of Jubilee's reaction to the idea that Jean OR Kitty had a say in who she married, and chuckled.  "Don't worry, I'll talk to Jubilee about it as soon as I get a chance," she promised.  She was definitely going to enjoy this.

"Thank you," Amarantha replied, and the two made small talk for a few minutes until Kitty saw Jean waving to her from across the room.

"If you'll excuse me," she said, and at Amarantha's nod she made her way over to Jean.  As she got closer, she saw that Jean's face was drawn.  "What's wrong?" she asked, glancing around for Logan and not seeing him.

"I just wanted you to know, Logan's down in the medlab," Jean replied, then quickly continued.  "Don't worry – Hank and Moira just want to run some tests.  He was showing Jaeger the Danger Room when the two decided a match was in order," she added, rolling her eyes, "and apparently overdid it.  Hank says there's no reason to believe that he won't be just fine in an hour or so.  Or at least as fine as he was," she corrected herself as Kitty looked skeptical.

"Maybe I should go check on him," Kitty offered.

"I wouldn't, not right now," Jean protested, rolling her eyes.  "As I said, they're running some tests.  Give him an audience, and he'll be even less cooperative than usual."

"Hmm, good point," Kitty conceded.  "You're sure he's ok?"

"For now," Jean replied, a weak smile on her face.  "I saw you talking to Amarantha – did you learn anything interesting?"

"You could say that." Kitty relayed the jist of their conversation, and before she finished Jean was laughing so hard tears were forming in her eyes.  "So, are you going to give her permission to propose?" she asked finally as she unsuccessfully attempted to catch her breath.

"I haven't decided yet," Kitty said haughtily, then looked at Jean speculatively.  "You know, as Logan's closest known female relative, I suppose under the Neo's conventions YOU should be asking my permission to marry him."

Jean laughed, and shook her head.  "Well you know, we are degenerate spikes, after all.  And he asked me, which I suppose is completely against all of their rules.  I'd give a lot to see Jubilee's reaction when you tell her, though.  She paused as she stood on her tiptoes, eyeing the entrance.  "Bobby's here," she said, waving him over.  "I think that's everyone.  Want to see if you can start getting everyone to take a seat?  And try to get them to mix up – I really don't want the table split half X-Men, half Neo.  This is going to be difficult enough without everyone taking sides right from the start."

"I'll see what I can do," Kitty promised, and walked off to meet Bobby, pausing for a moment here and there to relay Jean's message.  She saw Moira enter the room and waved, but could tell from the expression on the older woman's face that she wasn't there with any bad news.  As she began walking toward her to get an update on Logan's condition, she saw Bobby join her.  Still too far away to hear what was being said, she could tell from her expression that Bobby had made a joke at Moira's expense, and grinned when she saw Moira mock-punch his arm.  She was still watching them when she saw Piotr walk up behind Bobby and grab his arm with one hand.  She began running forward even as Bobby turned to see who had stopped him, and heard Piotr say something angrily as Bobby tried unsuccessfully to shake off his grip.  Time seemed to slow as she saw Piotr pull his other hand from his pocket, something metal glinting in the artificial light.

"Noooo," she screamed as she threw herself on Piotr's arm, feeling something sharp scrape across her skin.  Furiously, he threw her down and to the side with such force that she fell, her head slamming into the ceramic tiled floor.

"Katya!" Piotr shouted, and she saw him stare at her with disbelief as everyone else began to realize that something had happened and began to gather around.  "Why did you stop me?  I only wanted to save you.  Did you think I didn't hear what he did to you?  I know you would have never consented to being with him, I know you've always loved me…"  His voice trailed off as he saw the blood on Kitty's arm, and the blood drained from his face.

"Kitty, are you ok?" Bobby asked, rushing over and pulling crouching down next to her.  "You're bleeding!  What the hell did you cut her with?" he accused Piotr.

Kitty felt the room begin spinning, and the voices around her became fainter as she struggled to retain consciousness.

"Not her, never her, it was supposed to be you, you could have made amends for what you did to her, for what you did to Illyana…" Piotr said, his voice trailing off as he stared at Kitty's arm. 

"Illyana?  What'd I do to Illyana?" Bobby asked, and Kitty was glad for his arms around her, giving her something solid to hold onto.  It would figure that she would hit her head in just the same area she'd injured earlier in the week; she speculated that Hank had jinxed her when he'd warned her against doing just that.  Everything was beginning to look out-of-focus, and she gripped Bobby's arm, trying to get his attention.

"You brought her here," Piotr snarled.  "I read the files this morning, looking for information that would prove to Katya you were unfit to associate with.  You saved Illyana from Arcade and brought her here, where her life was torn apart, where she was corrupted by demons and exposed to the Legacy virus she died of.  And then you stand there with her," he added, gesturing at Moira, "and have the gall to joke about the missing sample of the cure?  YOU killed Illyana, and now you return and endanger Katya as well!"

"Seems to me the only one who's endangering her is you," Bobby replied, turning his back on Piotr and focusing his attention on Kitty.  "It's ok, Moira's here, we'll get it looked at, you're going to be fine" she heard him saying, but she was still trying to watch Piotr, positive that he was going to attack Bobby from behind.

Instead, she saw him stare at Bobby, as if unable to believe what he had said, and then turn his eyes on her.  Nodding, Piotr plunged the object he was holding into his own arm, letting it hang there, and Kitty saw with blurred vision that it was a syringe.

"Damn it, Piotr, what have you done!" Kitty heard Moira exclaim as she collapsed into Bobby's arms.  She heard nothing more.