THE KNIGHT AND THE MAIDEN
CHAPTER 6
"Kitty?" Storm called out into the darkened room. In the dim glow of the various medical equipment lights she could make out Kitty's outline. The younger woman was staring straight ahead, watching as the light on the machine at the foot of her bed blinked off and on, casting an eerie red glow to her face. Ororo sat down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.
Kitty turned and stared at her, tears glistening in the bottom of her eyes.
"Oh. How very foolish of me. Of course you're not. Come here," Storm said, holding out her arms.
"'Roro, my heart hurts," she sobbed, clinging tightly to her friend. The elemental mutant held her as she wept, finding silent tears running down her face as well.
"I know Kitten. I know it's painful. You miss Peter, just as you still miss Illyana."
"It's my fault. I let them both down, didn't I?"
"No. No, child. We all know the risks of being an X-Man. Peter chose this job, in spite of the danger. And Illyana...I know how you loved her. She was your little girl, even if she wasn't your blood. And you wanted to always keep her happy and safe from all the bad things, and take all her pain for her. But that's impossible, child. No one can do that. Not even intangible ninja geniuses. Not even white haired weather goddesses."
"I still loved him, you know. Do you think he still loved me?"
"I know he did."
"Katya."
"Piotr?" she asked, watching his face come into clearer view above her as her contacts settled back into place.
"For a moment I thought I was going to have to throw some cold water on your face to wake you up," he teased, smiling down at her while his warm hand rested tenderly against her cheek, his thumb reaching up to softly brush an errant tear from her eye. She turned her head towards his hand, kissing his palm as she nestled into his touch.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Of course you are right," Peter agreed, his grin widening. "I would have done this!"
Kitty shrieked with laughter as he reached down and tickled her stomach. She phased out of his grasp and managed to crawl to the edge of the bed before letting him grab her leg and pull her back towards him. She tried to give him a proper kiss, but only managed a few pecks in between her giggles.
"I'm sorry," she gasped through her laughter, trying to calm herself.
"Well if you're going to laugh this hard I may as well keep tickling you," he reasoned. Kitty phased herself just in time to escape his fingers, keeping her arms solid so she could reach over and get to the bottom of his feet. "This is cheating!" he protested as she continued her attack.
Three minutes and a raspberry to the stomach later their tickle war had ended and they were back in the position they had started in earlier that morning, snuggled up tightly in each other's arms.
"You were crying in your sleep again."
Peter's voice was steady, but it couldn't mask his worry. Kitty didn't answer him. Instead, she tilted her face down, letting her forehead rest against his chin.
"Are you alright?"
She phased out of his embrace and sat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to pet the plush head of the little stuffed dragon that sat on her nightstand.
"I am now. It was just a bad dream."
"Da. We've both had so many of those," he commented, sitting up on the opposite side of the bed. They stayed that way, heavy silence hanging between them.
"I guess it doesn't matter. It's all over now."
"Good."
"Do you want to know what it was about?"
"There's no need to say it out loud, Katya. That only makes it real."
"You're right." She looked at the clock next to Lockheed. "How'd it get so late anyway?"
"You fell asleep when I was telling you the story earlier and I did not want to wake you, although perhaps I should have."
"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "Shoot! I need to get her breakfast," she remembered suddenly.
"Already done. I gave her a Pop Tart. And it was healthy, because there was fruit in it," he said proudly, turning his head so he could see her. Kitty looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"There's no real fruit in Pop Tarts, but least its better than a cookie." She got up and picked one of her shirts off the pile of clothes on the chair. "Let me finish getting dressed and I'll meet you downstairs, 'k?"
"Ok."
"Hey," Kitty called out right as he reached the door. "Wait."
She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, using his strength to pull herself up level to his mouth. She kissed him deeply until they were both out of breath, and when they broke apart she bit his lower lip gently, not wanting to let go.
"You know I never have nightmares when you're sleeping next to me. But that dream...it felt so real. Promise me Peter, you wont let anything happen to you. Or to Yana."
"I'll keep all of us safe," he swore, his voice brimming with emotion. "I wont let anyone get hurt. Not-" he stopped in mid-sentence, catching himself "-not ever."
"Promise?"
"Always."
He turned to leave, missing the flicker of distrust that passed through Kitty's eyes as he walked away.
The first thing Rogue saw when the taxi pulled up to the house was a small explosion right next to the driver's side window.
"Give the driver an extra twenty," she whispered to Gambit.
"Sorry!" a female voice called out casually as Rogue got out of the car. "My bad."
"Tabitha?" Rogue asked, surprised to see the blonde haired mutant.
"Hey girl!" she yelled from across the yard. "Nice to see you back. Heads up!" she yelled, throwing a bomb at her target in the bushes a few feet from the taxi.
Rogue stuck her head back in the car where Remy was counting out the bills. "Make that an extra forty."
"Boomer, what's your problem? You almost killed me!" Bezerker yelled, coming out from his hiding spot behind the bushes.
"All part of the game, dude," she called back unapologetically.
"Yeah right. You're just still pissed at me because I sided with Sam after he dumped you for Rahne!"
In retaliation for that comment Tabitha threw a rather large bomb in Ray's direction. On instinct Gambit charged a card and aimed it at the flying explosive, blowing it up safely in mid air, getting the attention of both former New Mutants as the taxi sped away.
"Well I guess I don't have to ask you if you had fun on your trip," Boomer said, eyeing Remy.
"What trip? What are you guys doin' here?"
"We live here," Ray said, walking over to join them.
"No you don't. Ray, you quit and Tabitha joined X-Force."
Tabitha looked at Ray "What's X-Force?" He shrugged. "I think you might have gotten a little to much sun on your trip, Roguey-Roo."
"What trip, Meltdown?" Rogue asked again. Tabitha stared at her blankly.
"Who's Meltdown?"
"You are Tabitha! Did you change it again? First ya were Boom-Boom, then Boomer, then when ya joined X-Force ya changed your name to Meltdown," Rogue explained.
"She's back to the X-Force thing," Tabitha whispered to Ray, loud enough for all four of them to hear.
"Yes! Your team. X-Force! It's run by this guy named Bishop. He's a cop. From the future. Looks kinda like Shaft."
Tabitha turned to Remy. "Has she been, you know," she said, making hand motions like she was drinking out of a bottle.
"Why do Ah even bother," Rogue muttered. "Ah ask you serious questions and all you do is play games. Ya know, this is why you're a part of the fringe team. Because you will never be mature enough to join the real X-Men. Come on, Remy," she said, grabbing Gambit's hand and pulling him in to the mansion.
"You know Chere, if you wanted to hold my hand all you had to do was as-"
"Scott!" Rogue yelled, dropping her grip on Remy so she could wave at the X-Men's leader in the rec room from the foyer.
"Hey!" he called back, getting up to greet her. "You're back early. And you brought a friend. How...special," he grumbled, noticing Gambit at her side.
"Ah'm sorry, Ah know you must have been worried but Ah tried to call you. Rachel!" she yelled, noticing a little red head poking over the couch to watch them. "Why did you hang up on me when Ah called you at Muir?"
"I didn't!" she protested.
"We both heard you!" she shot back.
"Rogue, there must have been some kind of miscommunication," Scott explained, putting an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "Rachel and I haven't been to Muir in months."
"Yeah!" Rachel added, sticking her tongue out at Rogue.
"Rachel!" Scott chastised.
"What?"
"Apologize."
"Sorry," she muttered, rolling her eyes before turning back to the t.v.
"Sorry. Don't mind her, she's just.... a little boisterous today. And Gambit," he said, turning his attention over to Remy. "Good to see you," Scott told him, politely sticking one hand out and moving the other one to Rogue's other shoulder so that his hand was all the way across her back.
"I think I'll wait outside," Remy growled, ignoring the X-Men's leader's outstreched hand.
"Don't mind him," Rogue sighed, turning to face Scott. "He's also just a little boisterous today. But I really do need to talk to you about Muir. How can you not remember being there? And what about Kitty and Peter? Are they here? Are they alright? Do we need to go look for them?"
"Rogue, slow down. I don't know about this Muir thing, but everyone's fine. Kitty and Colossus are fine. They've seemed a little out of it lately, but I guess that's understandable."
"Dad! You're missing the movie!" Rachel yelled at Cyclops.
"Sorry. I promised her we'd watch 'Finding Nemo' together today. After all, she's only seen it what, thirty times? There might still be a line of dialogue she hasn't memorized."
"But-"
"I think Kitty and Peter are out by the pool, if you still want to check on them," Scott told her, walking away. "It's good to have you back, Rogue," he added.
"Goldfish crackers, you're so delicious, I love you more than all the other fishes," the little blonde haired girl sang before popping one of the orange crackers in her mouth. She was sitting at the table on the outside patio with Peter and Kitty, swinging her legs back and forth. Her hair still wet from swimming and the 'Harry Potter' towel Kitty had bought for her was still wrapped around her waist as she enjoyed her afternoon snack of goldfish and a juice box.
"Did you make that up yourself, Snowflake?" Peter asked, amused by her rhyme.
"Unh-Unh. Dr. Hank taught me." She frowned. "What does 'delicious' mean?"
"Yummy," Kitty told her. "Do you want some more?"
"Nope." She chewed thoughtfully on the edge of the fruit drink's straw for a moment. "When is the bear coming?" she wondered.
Kitty and Piotr looked at each other.
"What bear?" Kitty asked.
"The ring bear. For when you get married. Does he come at night like the Easter Bunny?"
Peter bite his lip to hide his laughter while Kitty dropped her head against the table so she couldn't see her face.
"Nyet, Snowflake, it's ring bearer. It's a person who brings the rings," he explained. "I believe it will be Rachel, right Katya?"
She raised her head off the glass. "I think so. But I have to check with Sc- I mean Jean."
"Scott," he corrected quickly.
"Right. Scott."
Illyana stared at them warily.
"So there's no bear?"
"No."
"Oh. Can there be a bear? Cause Mr. Bobby promised me there would be a bear."
"Sorry, little one, the wedding is no bears allowed. But you'll be there, and me, and your mommy and all the X-Men. And after the ceremony will have cake and-"
"Peter, why don't you take Illyana inside for some ice cream," Kitty told him in a strained voice. Piotr looked over and saw her gaze focused on Rogue, who was staring back at them with a pale, shocked expression.
"Da, of course. Come on Snowflake, let's go get some ice cream."
"Hi, Rogue," Illyana said as they walked past her on their way to the kitchen. "Why is she starring at me like that?" she asked Piotr, looking back over her shoulder to the southerner who was watching them walk away, a stunned look still on her face.
"How was Mississippi?" Kitty asked cheerily. Rogue turned her head back and found Kitty standing right in front of her, a huge, friendly smile on her face.
"How...how is she here? How is she still alive?"
"Why wouldn't she be?" Kitty asked in the same happy voice, but Roue saw the muscles in her face tighten and her teeth clench. Without warning, everything seemed to connect in Rogue's mind. The way the mansion's facade had looked familiar but off. How Tabitha hadn't known her code name or her team, and how Ray was still living at the institute. She remembered she had taken time off a long time ago to go back home to Caldecott County right before Kitty and Peter were supposed to get married, only a week before Illyana had been kidnapped.
"This is the past, isn't it?" she asked softly. "Somehow, we got taken back into the past."
Kitty stared at her, looking absolutely terrified. Rogue watched her take a deep breath and close her eyes, clenching her fists tight. When her eyes opened she seemed much calmer.
"I'm so glad you're back, Rogue. I need to ask you about your bridesmaids dress."
"What is wrong with you! Didn't you just hear what said! Don't you understand we're not supposed to be here?"
Kitty looked down at the ground, trying to search for an answer. When she looked up there was a cold glint in her eyes and a cool ferocity to her voice that Rogue had never witnessed before.
"I understand. I just don't care."
Sorry it's late. My work schedule changed, so I'm going to start posting Friday mornings (except for this chapter which is being posted on Friday night, very bad of me, I know) instead of Thursday's since those have become way too hectic. Anyway, I hope this chapter cleared up some answers, but still left you with some new ones. Next chapter will be more detailed about what happened to the three of them, and what Kitty and Peter's view of the situation is. Oh, and I stole the ring bear thing from my cousin, because when his dad got remarried he was very upset that being the ring bearer didn't mean he got to wear a bear costume. Anyway, If you liked this, please leave a review! If you hated this, please leave a review! Tell me if I do something wrong so hopefully I can make it better. And thank you to all those who left reviews! They are greatly appreciated and fill me with joy! Here's the shout outs:
Jeremy Harper- Thank you for all your kind words! I felt much more confident with each chapter I wrote, it nice to know that it shows in my work. I'm also pleased to know you like the dialogue, as that is the part I enjoy writing the most. It makes me happy to know that I played some small part in finding interest in Kitty and Peter again. I'm very glad to know you're enjoying this story.
SperryDee- No, he's alive! And so is Illyana, and everybody's happy, except for Remy and Rouge and Rachel, at least they are in this chapter.;)
ishandahalf- I'm so sad, I can't watch Passions anymore because my work schedule changed! But in a way it's good because I really think Fox and Whitney are going to hook up, and I do not want to see that. Plus Martin is icky. He keeps going on about how much he loves and misses his family. If you really love your family, you don't abandon them to run away to Mexico with your girlfriend and pretend youre dead for ten years! Sometimes, that show makes me so mad. Anyway, not much Romy in this chapter, sorry bout that, but it needed to get back to it's Kiotrish roots, at least for a chapter or two. But I'm sure you loved this chapter because of the Scott-Rogue interaction, cause I know how much you want those two to get together.;) Romy will have a little talk about what her little comment about him being "boisterous" in either chapter 7 or 8, which of course leads to banter, and Romy banter is the best. Oh yeah, and the Piotr dead thing was just a dream to trip everyone up, it wasn't until after I posted that I realized I probably ended it at the wrong spot, but hopefully this chapter made that chapter make sense.
KittieKat8- it did seem like rogue was warming up to remy, but now that everybody's favorite X-Man Cyclops is back in the picture, who knows? And Remy does seem to be getting a little tired of Rogue's behavior. I guess Peter and Kitty will just have to set an example, or at the very least play matchmaker. And if they don't I think there could be a little red head who would be more than willing to. :)
KagInuLuv- Glad you like the Romy! It will take a backseat for a chapter or two, but it'll pop up soon. It has to, since it's just too much fun to write!:)
Sweety8587- The blast sent them to the past (ooh, that rhymes) but it does seem to be trying to get them to sort out their problems, doesn't it? Rogue will have some theories on why it did that in the next chapter, as Kitty doesn't really seem to care. And thank you for the double chocolate brownie! They're my favorite. I love chocolate!
B- Basically, my rule about the Cajun accents is that if can't understand my own writing, I went to far. I laughed pretty hard at your "Cajun" even though I only understood about half of it. But, yay, I'm making you not hate Remy! That's good, cause he's going to get a little more character development a little later.
emicablue- "angst ridden end", I liked that description! Luckily it's not the end, it was just Kitty's subconscious mind playing tricks on her. Even though, the angst never seems to stay away for long ;)
Lucas'sgirl- Yay! He's not dead, so now you don't have to hurt anyone. Glad you liked the chapter, the Kiotr ratio will be a lot bigger in the next few chapters than it was in the last two, but the next one is mostly explaining what's going on in Kitty and Peter's heads.
The Uncanny R-Man- You know I re-read the last chapter after I posted, and I was confused too. Hopefully it's all starting to make some sense now. By the way, you like the Sam dumping Tabitha for Rahne? I threw that one in just for you. Between your username and your stories, I somehow got the impression that you might have some kind of small affinity for Wolfsbane ;)
epona04- no, you're not thick, that was just a really confusing chapter. This chapter gave a very minimal explanation, but by the end of the next chapter it will all make sense, mostly.
Dark-bat- He's not dead! I can't kill him off yet, can I. Then there would be no more gushy Kiotr moments. Sometimes you just need a bit of random, incoherent angst to even out the fluffiness before going back to the Kiotrness. ;)
DemonRogue13- Glad you liked it!
