A/N- Many thanks for all the reviews, I can't even begin to tell you how much they brighten my day! Please, keep them coming!

Piotr walked through the door with his portfolio neatly tucked under his arm and Kitty looked up from her seat on the couch next to Pyro with a grin, "You're home early today."

"Anya finished up early." He explained as he dropped his keys in the bowl by the door, "So we are going out for dinner."

"Wow! You guys are really getting serious, you've been on what six dates in like two weeks? That's pretty impressive."

"I enjoy spending time with her." He shrugged with a tiny grin causing Kitty to smile widely back at him,

"I bet you do..." She hopped to her feet and followed Piotr to his room, assuming he would need her assistance.

"So where are you guys going?" She asked, opening his closet doors with extra flourish as she began to peruse, "Somewhere with a dress code? Somewhere casual?"

"Botticelli's Bistro." Piotr set his portfolio down on his bed, "I do not think they have a dress code."

"No," Her brow pinched together and she shook her head slowly, "No, they don't." She cast her eyes down to the grey carpeting and let out a breath, "Lance took me there once. When we'd first started dating."

Piotr noticed Kitty's change in demeanor and struggled to find something to say in order to distract her from being upset. "It is... nice there."

He wasn't particularly good at doing this.

"Yeah, it's really nice." She nodded solemnly, going back to sifting through his clothes. She settled on a sleek black button up and a pair of dress pants for him, handing them to him as she avoided eye contact.

"Katya, are you okay?"

"Mmhmm," She squeaked, quickly swiping at a tear as it escaped her eye, "Have fun!"

Before Piotr could say anything else, she spun around and hurried off to her room, leaving him standing dumbfounded in the middle of his room with his shirt and slacks draped over his arm.

He tossed his clothes on his bed and walked out into the hall, stopping at Kitty's closed door and hesitating. Completely unsure of how to proceed in such a foreign situation. He walked back to the living room and rubbed the back of his neck, pacing back and forth.

"What?" Pyro asked, keeping his slack-jawed attention on the violent video game on the screen before him.

"I think she is upset." Piotr stopped pacing and frowned at Pyro.

"Huh?" Pyro glanced over at Piotr, realization setting in when the sounds of Adele started playing from behind Kitty's closed door. His back straightened up and he paused his game, his eyebrows perking up into his hairline, "Upset?"

The front door opened, and Remy stepped in with a tired sigh, "I hate day shifts. I don't even care that they free up my night, I'm never switching shifts with Cindy again."

He tossed his keys in the bowl next to the door and rolled his eyes, "I know, this is when you say "You always say that, Remy." And you'd be right. I do. But this time I mean it. I don't care how low cut her shirt is, or how pouty her lips are. It's just not worth it. Even for the sex."

He stopped and cocked his head when he heard the depressing strains of Someone Like You floating from down the hallway and frowned between Pyro and Piotr, "What did you do?!"

"It was him!" Pyro dropped his Xbox controller and pointed an accusatory finger at Piotr. "She was totally fine 'till he got home!"

Remy's shoulders sagged as he glared at Piotr, digging his cell phone out of his back pocket.

"I did not mean to-" Piotr rubbed a hand over his face, "When I told her where I was taking Anya for dinner it brought back memories... I don't know..."

By the time Remy had dialed the number and was holding the phone to his ear, they could clearly hear muffled sobs accompanied by Toni Braxton's Unbreak My Heart.
He opened his mouth to further shame Piotr for being the accidental cause of the crying when a gruff voice on the other end of the phone line cut him off.

"Hello?"

"Uh..." He blinked, having expected to hear Rogue. And this was clearly not Rogue. He pulled the phone away from his ear and double checked the display to ensure he'd dialed correctly before holding it back up and clearing his throat, "Is Rogue there?"

"Who wants to know?" The man on the other end of the phone line grunted.

"Uhm..." Remy knit his brow and ran a hand through his hair, fairly sure of whom he was speaking to, and not quite sure how to proceed without provoking an unfavorable reaction.

"Wait, is this the damn Cajun?" He ground out, "Rogue comes home wreaking like your god awful cheap cologne one more time and I-"

"Woah." Remy cut him off with an indignant chuckle, "It is not cheap."

"Well then you best get your money back."

Remy knit his brow, formulating a biting response in his head when he heard Rogue's muffled voice on the other end, berating whom he assumed was Wolverine for answering her phone.

"Yeah?" She said finally, sounding slightly out of breath.

"I thought you set me up for a minute there, chere." He chuckled nervously.

"Remy? Hang on."

He could hear Logan in the background barking something at the mention of his name and heard Rogue tell him off before finding a more private place to talk and returning to the phone.

"What's wrong? Is she okay? This isn't a booty call or somethin' is it?"

"Do you want it to be, fleur?" He smirked.

"I'm hanging up now-"

"No!" He said quickly, coming back to his senses as some pathetic Kelly Clarkson song filled his ears, "She's crying!"

"How bad?"

"I don't know..." He looked up at Piotr who shrugged, "She's locked in her room listening to horrible music."

"You just described a regular weeknight for Kitty." Rogue replied dryly.

"Does Wolvie know she's living here...?" Remy asked cautiously.

Rogue let out a snort, "Who knows. Probably. If he does, he certainly doesn't care. But don't tell Kitty that, she thinks she's living off the grid." She let out a breath and he assumed she was rolling her eyes at her friend. "Alright, is she weeping? Is she trying to sing along with the songs? Breaking things? Doing anything over-dramatic at all?"

He listened for a minute, deciding that she wasn't exactly weeping and that she definitely wasn't trying to sing along. Thank God for small miracles.

"No."

"Okay," Rogue said thoughtfully with a breath, "I'll be over in a few hours."

"A few hours!?" Remy protested loudly, "I thought you were going to drop everything and hurry the hell over here!"

"I thought you said this wasn't a booty call." Rogue let out a breath when Remy's response to her attempt at a joke was silence. "Relax. She'll be okay, I promise. I have to finish my training or Logan will skewer me."

He heaved a sigh and shook his head, "Alright."

"I'll be over as soon as I can. See ya."

"Wait!" He said quickly before she could hang up, "Just for future reference; Can I use this number for a booty call?"

She hung up the phone and Remy rolled his eyes, "Tease."

"A few hours!?" Pyro threw his hands up in the air, bringing Remy back to the real issue at hand. "What are we gunna do?!"

"I don't know." Remy set his phone down on the kitchen island and shook his head, "I guess one of us should try to talk to her."

They all fell silent, listening to Kitty's depressing music for a moment as they stared at one another.

"I nominate Pete." Pyro said eventually as he raised his hand, "It's his fault she's in there!"

Remy turned his attention to Piotr and gave him a nod, "He has a point. I mean, learn to dress your self for chrissake."

"She volunteered! I did not ask her to help!" He said defensively. "You should do it, Remy. I would not know what to say..."

"There's no way in hell I'm takin' this bullet for you, mon ami." Remy shook his head adamantly. "I doubt you could say anything to make things worse."

Piotr frowned skeptically before letting out a resigned sigh and trudging over to Kitty's closed door. He gave it a few knocks and leaned forward, "Katya?" He said loud enough to be heard over Jewel singing about a breakup.

When there was no response he put his hand on the doorknob and gave it a test turn, finding her door to be unlocked. He looked back at the guys who silently urged him on and let out a breath, twisting the knob and poking his head inside.

"Katya?"

She sniffled on her bed with her back to the door, "I'm okay, Pete. Honestly."

Piotr stepped into her room, closing the door behind him quietly and moved over to the stereo next to her bed to turn it down. He sat down on the edge of her bed next to her and frowned, "I did not mean to upset you."

"You didn't upset me." She sniffed, "I'm not upset."

"I..." Piotr began, hesitating and letting out a breath, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Kitty craned her neck to look back at Piotr with a bleary eyed frown, "Are you trying to help? That's not helping."

"I do not know what to say," He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "You should not have to even go through this. He is an idiot for letting you go."

She rolled her head back away and let out an unamused laugh, "Sure."

"He is." Piotr persisted, "You are beautiful, fun, smart... you moved in here and forced us to like you. Not many people could do such a thing." He smiled down at her, "If he cannot see that, then he does not deserve you."

She looked back at him and gave him a watery smile, "I just... don't want to be alone. I know that wasn't the best reason for staying with him but..." She trailed off when her throat grew tight, rolling onto her back as she clutched her stuffed Hello Kitty doll to her chest. She shook her head and swallowed hard, "I'm not really upset about the breakup. He was right. I... pushed him away. That's what I do, I push people away until there's no one left."

Piotr knit his brow as he listened.

"My parents died last year." She looked at him through the corner of her eye, "Don't apologize. I never know what to say when people tell me they're sorry for it."

He nodded solemnly.

"I don't talk about it." She continued, "I don't really know what to say about it, you know?"

"What happened?"

She sucked in a breath and wiped the tears forming in her eyes, "Car accident. Icy roads... nobody's fault..." She trailed off and shook her head, "And now it's just me."

"Is this the reason you left the X-men?"

"More or less." She hugged her stuffed animal tighter and frowned, "I pushed them away too. I mean, what's the point of being a hero you can't even help the people you love?"

There was a comfortable silence as Piotr processed everything Kitty had told him. Eventually he turned his body to face her a little more and gave his head a gentle shake, "You are not alone, Katya."

"You're not going to start singing Michael Jackson for me, are you?"

He gave her a small smile, "You have Rogue, and I know she cares very much about you."

She knit her brow and bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying again.

"And I know it is not much, but you have us."

She let out a laugh and a few tears escaped, "That's not exactly the same. I mean, I like you guys, but you basically tolerate me."

"Well, maybe that is why you do not push us away." He smiled easily. "You are a good friend. I know at least I think very highly of you, and I am sure Remy and Pyro feel the same. Think of us as like... your brothers, or something."

She laughed again and sat up, leaning back against her headboard, "That's a little extreme."

"We did commit a felony for you." Piotr said with a nod, "I think it is safe to say we would do anything for you."

Kitty laughed again and wiped a hand across her cheek.

"You will never be alone, Katya. You are far too lovable to be alone." He said, giving her a chuck on the chin.

"When you say anything..." Kitty began carefully, "Do you think I could get Pyro to start wearing pants in the morning?"

"Well, you are not a miracle worker..." He gave her a grin before patting her knee, "Trust me, yes? We do like having you around. Even Remy, although he would never admit it. He likes that you vacuum. And that you don't drink his milk, that is a very big deal for him."

There was a gentle knock on the door before the door opened up a crack and Remy poked his head in, "Hey..." He said cautiously, trying to read Kitty's expression, "Just checkin' in."

Kitty sniffed and ran a finger below her eyes to wipe away any running mascara, "I'm okay."

"Good." He leaned against the doorjamb with an unsure smile, "I put the water on to make you some tea, and then I remembered that we don't have tea. But I could... warm something else up for you. Milk... Beer..."

She let out a little chuckle and shook her head, "No thanks."

Pyro stopped next to Remy, peering in at Kitty over his shoulder.

"Hey, look at that! She stopped cryin'!"

"Yes, I'm feeling better." Kitty reassured the two in the doorway before looking back at Pete with a nod, "I can do better, right?"

"So much better." Remy agreed.

"There's plenty of fish in the sea." She continued with a casual hand toss.

"You're gunna catch so many fish..." Pyro added with a nod.

"You need to set higher standards, petite." Remy said seriously, "I mean, you're hot. You've got a nice set." He lifted his hands to his own chest to demonstrate for her, "Small, but enough to fill a hand."

Kitty knit her brow, "That's disgusting, but thank you."

"Tiny waist, perky ass... all together nice package." Remy went on.

"Very nice." Pyro added.

"You've got a gymnast body. Which makes guys think of flexibility. And trust me petite, we like flexibility. Ain't that right, Pete?" Remy shot Pete a knowing smile, "You love those little dancer type bodies."

Piotr let out a sigh and shook his head at Kitty who had begun to laugh at Remy and Pyro's attempt at comfort.

"That's good to know." She gave them a smile.

The tea kettle whistled from the kitchen and Remy looked back over his shoulder, "Your hot water's ready."

"Thanks, but I think I'd just like to take a nap. And Pete, you've got your date."

"I can be a little late." He frowned, "You are sure you're alright?"

She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, "Yeah. Thanks for the talk."

"My door is always open." He said seriously.

Pyro chuckled, "Unless Anya's over. Then ya know, y'might wanna knock first, hey?"

Remy rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, heading off to remove the kettle from the stove top with Pyro on his heels.

Piotr gave Kitty a wry smile, "See? They do not just tolerate you. Remy would not boil water for just anyone."

Kitty laughed as she phased herself through her comforter and bed sheets, "I wonder if he would have given me his milk, if I'd asked for warm milk."

"Do not push your luck." He stood up watching Kitty snuggle down on her pillow with a bit of hesitation. "You are sure you're alright? If you don't want to be alone-"

"I'm fine Pete." She answered somberly before he could fully get out the question. "I promise."

He gave her nod, and left her room, gently shutting the door behind him.

By the time Rogue arrived, Piotr had left for his date, and Pyro and Remy were lounging in the living room, drinking a couple of beers.

Rogue knit her brow and dropped her keys in the key bowl, "Where's Kitty?"

"She's sleeping." Remy said with a proud grin, "I calmed her down."

"You?" Rogue crossed her arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow, "What did you do, slip her some roofies?"

Remy shot her an unamused smile, "I am naturally charming, Rogue. I know how to talk to women."

"Pete did it." Pyro explained and Rogue gave an understanding nod,

"That makes more sense."

Remy frowned, "What is that supposed to mean? I could have calmed her down."

"Pete just seems more..." Rogue flipped her hand in the air as she searched for the word, "Sensitive."

Pyro nodded in agreement and Remy's frown grew, "I can be sensitive."

"Oh please, you probably told her she has nice boobs." Rogue chuckled as she sat down on the couch with Pyro.

"He did! He totally did!" Pyro confirmed excitedly, "She's got you pegged, mate."

"I made her tea." Remy shot back at Pyro, "That's more than you did."

"We don't have tea. You made her hot water." Pyro snapped.

"Aww, you guys..." Rogue grinned, "You're like three men and a little lady. Running around like chickens with your heads cut off... tryin' to be all sweet." She pouted her lips and leaned over to playfully scratch Remy's tummy, "You're just like big ol' teddy bears."

Remy ignored her teasing and gave her a smirk, "Little lower, chere."

She pulled her hand back and rolled her eyes, "Big ol' disgusting teddy bears."