As both Kitty and Rogue returned from the mall, Illyana was the first to greet them, having waited near the door for nearly half an hour. "Katya!" She shouted just as she previously had that same morning and rushed to her side, wrapping her arms in an embrace around Kitty's legs. Both Rogue and kitty let out a light laugh at the young girl's excitement of the arrival of Kitty. As Illyana then looked up to Rogue she shone her teeth in a bright smile and simply stated, "Hi Rogue!" while still holding tightly to Kitty's legs.
"Katya, can we go play now?" Illyana then questioned as her brother entered the room and nodded a 'hello' to both Rogue and Kitty, his eyes meeting Kitty's staying for a while. "Katya!" Illyana stated with a pouted lip, bringing Kitty back to the realization that there were others in the room besides Piotr.
Rogue noticed the moment that had lasted between the two and flatly stated, "Ah'll ... see yah three later; Ah'm supposed to meet the Professor fa some mental trainin', power stability thang. Bye." And with that she exited.
"Sorry, cutie, what were you saying?" Kitty stated, her cheeks barely showing the naturally porcelain colored skin beneath red anxiety. Se bent down to speak with Illyana at eye-level as Illyana repeated her question. "Sure. Oh! before I, like, forget or something, I got you a few special things when I was at the mall today. So why don't we go to your room and open them there instead of staying down here all day." Illyana's eyes brightened at the mention of gifts an the two walked hand in hand up the stairs, a gentle giant following behind.
Once they reached Illyana's room Piotr smiled, and within his native language stated, -"Yana, my little snowflake, remember what to say."- As the packages were pulled from the shopping bags, Illyana became over whelmed. A plastic tea-set, two 'princess' dresses with matching tiara and shoes, as well as a fake-beauty salon's accessories, were now added to the toys within Illyana's room. "Thank you, Katya!" She exclaimed, admiring the dresses and tea cups.
Piotr smiled as his sister did as she was told, and noted how it was due to Kitty that she was given such delight. "Thank you, Katya, you did not have to do this."
"Don't be silly, Piotr," Kitty state with a flirtatious hand resting on his arm, "It was totally worth it to see her this happy." Piotr looked down at her hand upon his arm, and though he enjoyed it, he was uncertain if she knew of his feelings towards her, or was merely in her element innocence after all these years.
"Katya, can we play house now?" Illyana questioned, pulling Kitty over to a table that was placed in a corner of her room, where she had already begun to set up the new tea-set. Piotr took this time to stand fully upright instead of against a wall and told his younger sister, -"Yana, be good to Katya, and you can come into my room when she is all done playing, alright?"- Kitty was only able to detect a few of the words he spoke, those being, 'Illyana,' 'Ekaterina' and 'you.' She could only wonder what it was that he had said, but decided to put it behind her and merely have a little fun in the delight of the six-year-old.
"No!" Illyana pouted, stamping her foot upon the floor as if she were four years younger than her age. Shocked by his sister's often willing ways having changed so suddenly he stated, "What do you mean, no? Yana, you must be a good little girl or Katya will not want to play anymore, right?"
His look of plea for Kitty to help him was fulfilled as Kitty stated, "Yeah, cutie, you should listen to your big brother." She didn't like stating it for she knew she couldn't resist being around the littlest member of the institute, whom she had become so enlightened around.
"But, Piotr, you have to play house too. Don't paint right now, please." Illyana had obviously been taking lessons from Kitty in how to do the perfect puppy-dog-pout, rendering any to do as was commanded of them...most of the time. With Piotr, there was no doubt he would fall for it, he already had many times with Kitty, and his sister's own innocence was not denied either.
"Alright, Snowflake, I'll stay," he stated, a sigh escaping his mouth. A look from his sister to Kitty passed, both wearing smiles upon their faces; he had to admit, he knew he would enjoy the time with them, they were, after all, his two favorite girls.
"Ok. Piotr, you're like Papa and Katya will be like Mama, and I will be the Illyana. But you are like Rachel says, because you are not Mama and Papa." Illyana was proud of herself, seeming so in charge of the situation, even though it be a mere 'game' of house. Though, both were confused by the last-half of her comment, bringing up the next words spoken.
"What do you mean, cutie?" Kitty questioned from her seat at the small table, unable to continue without understanding what the young girl was saying.
"I already have a Mama and Papa, but they're gone now, Katya. The Professor told me when I came back that they died, but they're in Heaven now." Illyana's words were spoken through the voice of a child her age, but the emotion held within them seemed as if she were much older, she wiped the tears from her eyes as Kitty took her in her arms, cradling her as she rested in her lap. The image was bittersweet for Piotr, the comfort that Illyana found in Kitty was heart-warming, yet the cause of it, had hit him as well, though he masked it completely.
Illyana detached herself a bit from Kitty, no longer giving off gentle tears onto Kitty's blouse, but merely wiping her eyes and continuing with what she had to say. "Rachel says 'Daddy' to Mr. Scott now, so Piotr is Daddy and Katya can be my Mommy, like Mrs. Jean." She smiled at the thought and looked to the faces of both Kitty and Piotr to make sure that this was right. Kitty attempted to hide a blush as she smiled down at the little girl, hugging her still, but this time for her adorable ways, as Piotr merely nodded in approval.
After dressing in both the out-fits and filling the tea-pot with water and placing the fake desserts upon a tray, nearly four hours before, the 'family' had finally decided to stop playing for a while, by the choice of the 'father,' who insisted that there was a panting he had to get to. He stayed for a while longer as he and Kitty placed a few of the toys away while Illyana hanged from the costume and back into the clothes she had on previously.
As she returned back, Illyana said something which made the two adults realize she had not merely been playing with a comment that had been stated prior. "Daddy, can we go to a movie tonight with Mommy?" Kitty had blushed more than enough times within the first hour alone, and had now gotten over most of it, unless she caught Piotr stealing a glace at her while she wasn't paying much attention, therefore she only smiled at this comment, unaware of how Piotr would respond.
"I, well, Snowflake I was going to work on my painting right now remember?" He stated, not wishing to put Kitty in a situation that she may feel uncomfortable within. Both Kitty and Illyana's smiles dropped a bit, Illyana's far more, not minding to show how she truly felt. He noticed this and stated, "Alright then, which movie do you want to go see?"
As Kitty attempted to think of a movie that was appropriate for children of Illyana's age, she failed to find one, as did Piotr, therefore, he hoped his sister knew of one. "Can we go see Beauty and the Beast like we saw on TV?" Her light blue eyes sparkling at the thought of the commercial she had seen earlier that day while watching a show with her brother.
"Yana, that was not for a movie, that was for a play. I do not know if you will want to go see that, you may be a bit young for i-" Began Peter's voice, unaware if his sister would be able to behave herself within the theater.
"Please Piotr," the little girl begged pulling onto the shirt which he was wearing. The uncertainty in his eyes was quickly gone as Kitty stated, "My parents had both taken me to a play when I was five and said that I behaved perfectly, Peter; I doubt Illyana would do anything less. And if you're worried about the money, I'll pay for myself, I don't mind, even Illyana and yourself."
Piotr laughed at the comment and simply responded, "I doubt you could be anything less, Katya." After she recovered from the blush, she looked back up from the carpeting to his face he continued, "No, do not worry about the money at all. I will pay for all of us, and dinner as well." Then, as he turned to his sister, he knelt down, way down, to her level and spoke, "But you, little one, must remember to behave, do you promise me?" With a nod of her head the deal was sealed and Piotr purchased tickets for the show and made reservations for a diner prior, giving them only a little less than one hour until they had to leave the mansion.
Though Piotr would take barely any time to get ready, Kitty insisted on helping Illyana dress appropriately for the dinner and show to come. Nearly half an hour had gone by now, and each was done with a respective shower and Piotr was completely dressed, with his hair styled, and cologne applied. As he went to knock on Kitty's bedroom door, where both she and Illyana were getting ready, he was greeted by Remy being thrown out from the room as Rogue said, "Now hurry up and get outta here; Kit's gunna flip out on meh if she doesn't look ha best for Pet...Hey Petah!"
Both Remy and Piotr could not help but laugh at the way she had quickly changed her words, Piotr feeling honored that Kitty would like to look her best for their time tonight even if it was not a date between the two, and had only been reserved thanks to his younger sister. "Kit's not ready yet, 'cause we had ta get this Swamp Rat outta here, but she should be done in about fiftee-" "Rogue I like, totally need your help right now, stop smacking on Remy and get your rear end in here!" Kitty's interruption, if not for the make-up on Rogue's face, would have given evidence of the blush she gave off. She merely rolled her eyes and stated, "Latah, Rat," and returned into the room.
Piotr turned to his best friend and they headed down the hallway and down the stairs to the common room where they sat and began to speak with one another while waiting their respective ladies to be ready for them. "So, Remy hears dat you taken out de petite tonight?"
"Yes, but it is not what you think, my friend. I do know how that mind of yours works; we are going with my Snowflake as well," Piotr commented, wishing that Remy would not give him any embarrassing words of what to do for the night as he had stated he would, once he and 'de Petite' were to go out on a date.
"Alright, comrade, alright. But de petite has affection for you, Remy's belle has told him, many times. Tonight may be the perfect evening to romance de petite." His words ended with a shrug and a sly look to his mysteriously entrancing eyes as a smug expression appeared on his face, knowing that his friend, much unlike himself, would most likely not make any advances.
Yet, to his surprise, Piotr calmly responded, "Perhaps you are right, my friend."
Meanwhile, up in the girl's room, Kitty was franticly searching for the new dress she had purchased not even a month before the date. "Is this it, Mommy?" Illyana questioned as she and Rogue were both attempting to help find the dress within the clutter of Kitty's closet.
"That's it!" Kitty exclaimed taking the dress from Illyana with a kiss to the young girls forehead as she pulled on the dress and zipped it up. She then turned to Rogue for a bit of help in re-fixing her hair, which she obliged to.
As she began helping with the hairspray, Rogue bent down to Kitty's ear and while raising an eyebrow, questioned in reference to Illyana's comment, "Mommy?" Kitty only blushed and smiled at the thought, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she liked the sound of someone calling her 'Mommy,' especially with Piotr being the 'Daddy,' for the same little voice.
Finally, as the hair was done, and Illyana's was now being finished by Kitty, she whispered to Rogue, "She just needs someone like that in her life, so when we were playing today she said that I would be her Mommy and Piotr would be...well, you know. So we thought that it was just, like, for the time being and then she started calling us that afterwards, so...you don't think it's wrong do you?" Kitty's voice was now filled with concern un able to decipher why her friend questioned this.
"No. Ah know yah've wanted somethan like this fa a while. Ah also know that she reallah loves yah." Then, after a short pause, while Kitty smiled down at Illyana's blonde tresses, which were now in pony-tails and curled, Rogue watched the delight on both their faces. "Yah know, he loves yah too; doesn't he kid?"
Though Illyana had only been able to hear this last comment by Rogue, the others had been in whispers, Illyana figured it out; she always knew more than she let on, and shocked most when proving that fact. "Yep, Daddy told me and Uncle Remy that he loves Mommy, alot. Remember when you helped sing me to sleep?" Without waiting for an answer her voice continued on, "Daddy said that it was the most beautiful voice ever! Uncle Remy said that he knew Daddy loved you because of the pictures in his coloring book. ... Can I have pretty lips too?"
Kitty obliged the young girl with a mere transparent coat of lip-gloss while trying to calm herself down, her heart was racing. She took Illyana's words to mean that Piotr, her Peter, had been sketching her portrait. As she finished helping Illyana zip up the dark blue dress she was wearing, Kitty sunk back on the bed. "I, I don't think I can do this Rogue," she stammered.
"Kit, get ah grip!" Rogue was now getting frustrated with the habits of Kitty and Piotr never admitting their feelings for each other and had already told Remy to convince Piotr to say something to her, and soon. Little did she know that he did not need to do any persuasion, for Piotr heart was already settled on the matter. "He loves yah, now if yah don't say it ta him tanight, Ah'll be telln' him for yah."
Illyana let out a giggle and then covered her mouth immediately after, to which both the women of the room turned at her with smirks. "Cutie, what are you not telling us? You know, since I'm your Mommy, you, like, have to tell me this stuff," Kitty coaxed. Illyana merely shook her head, keeping her hands over her mouth, determined not to say a thing. "Is it a secret?" Illyana merely nodded 'yes'. "Will your Daddy tell me tonight?" Yet another nod, 'yes'. Kitty took a deep breath and then let it flow out once again, her smile instantly became brighter.
She turned to her vanity, grabbing a black chain adorned with an emerald that she was barrowing from Rogue. As she turned back once again to face her friend, she smiled, gestured to the apparel, and asked, "Well...Do you think he'll like it?" Illyana smiled and clapped her hands, while Rogue stated, "Sugah, there's a ton Ah could say 'bout how much he's gunna love it, but Yana's here, so Ah can't." Illyana gave a puzzled expression to this statement and Kitty, who was now much more used to Rogue's comments, merely playfully slapped her shoulder.
"Well, I guess we should go downstairs now, cutie. Peter made reservations for some really fancy restaurant, and I don't want to make him late. Oh! Before I forget, Rogue, you and Remy...just, stick to your side of the room," Kitty playfully stated as she grabbed a purse to match with her outfit and bounded out the bedroom doorway with Illyana trailing immediately behind.
Rogue rushed after, all three females making their way downstairs, as she shouted, "Ah swear, Kit, if yah say anythang lahke that again, I'll kill y-"
Kitty had stopped on the fourth to the last step from the bottom of the stair-case when her gaze met Piotr's. The men had heard Rogue's voice as she chased after Kitty, and thus had moved into the foyer. Feeling a need to balance herself, Kitty held onto the railing a bit tighter than normal, though it went unnoticed by all except for Rogue.
Looking up, Piotr found himself gazing into Kitty's dark hazel-colored eyes which had seemed to gain an essence of green within them, most-likely due to her choice of apparel. The vibrant green colored dress was a little below knee-length length, and had a sheer black fabric over it, making it appear the color of an emerald. The cut was a slightly deep V-neck and only enhanced by the emerald adorned necklace. Most surprising was her hairstyle; though often up in a high pony-tail, she had let it down for the night, and merely curled it, instead of the straight locks which were often seen. As his eyes moved back up from her body, they met her own gaze once again as he walked over to the end of the staircase, holding his arm out for her.
She looked back up to Rogue, a face of fright was now upon her. With a gesture that seemed to mean nothing, Rogue had told her to turn around and continue on her way down. Kitty inhaled once again, and did as Rogue commanded; when her arm met Piotr's she felt as if nothing could go wrong, and that everything was perfect. A feeling of warmth consumed her and she was finally at peace.
Illyana hopped down the last four steps and reached 'uncle' Remy's side, who had been gesturing for her to come to him. "Do you like my dress, Uncle Remy?" Illyana had become very close to the Cajun, due to his 'allegiance' with her elder brother and had been calling him such since she was first introduced to him. He bent down to her level and whispered, "Remy tinks dat da princess looks more belle den ever." Taking hold of his index finger she twirled herself about, the deep blue dress, flaring at the bottom as she did so. Remy glanced up, for solely a moment, at the hopefully-soon-to-be-couple, and then whispered into Illyana's ear to ask her brother a question; she nodded and made her way over to him.
In order to get his attention she tugged onto the hem of his coat and stated, "Daddy, don't you think Mommy looks pretty in her dress?" This moment caused all the attention to fall onto Illyana, and as she was done, Piotr turned back to Kitty, "No, snowflake. I think that she is more beautiful than words." Kitty could not help but blush, for what seemed to be for the millionth time that day, and then looked back as Rogue began to speak. "Yah three are gunna be late fa the dinner an then the show if yah don't go now." She ushered them out the door, Remy along-side her.
Since Piotr and Remy had much time before the girls came down, they had taken the car from the garage and parked it in front of the mansion, ready to leave. Xavir, Logan, and Ororo, walked out, having been notified by Peter that they may be returning late that night, and said goodbye to each of them, in their own ways. Logan's going along the lines of, "I'm watching you, tin can." while Ororo merely wished them to have a good time and scolded Logan for his comment. Xavier merely wished them a goodnight and that if they were any disturbances to merely call at the mansion for assistance. With that he too wheeled back inside the mansion and left Remy and Rogue to wave them off as they drove down the dirt-path to the large, steel black gates which created the boundary lines of where the institute property line began. All three were excited for the nights events, each in their own way; all three knew that something was expected to happen that night, but when was the question.
