A/N- I am in love with my reviewers.

Okay, that's weird. I love you, but I'm not "in love" with you. It's not you, it's me.

That's even more weird. I'm regretting my decision to go in the love direction... Please continue to review. And know that I'm very much in like with you all. :)

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my brain twin, Lizzieturbo, who still manages to find time for me in spite of being busy with her Anthropology diorama...

Couch shopping was not how any of them had planned on spending their Sunday afternoon, but thanks to Pyro's Mario impression the day before, it had become a necessary evil. Piotr instantly went off on his own the second they walked into the store, mostly to stay a safe distance away from Pyro, leaving the other three to peruse at their own pace. And considering this was their fourth stop at a furniture store that day, their pace was slow.

"I don't even know why we need a new couch. Our couch isn't that burned." Pyro pouted as he poked a leather recliner to make it rock.

Remy cut his eyes to Pyro with a frown, "Yes, it is."

"I thought those things were supposed to be coated with some type of flame retardant." Kitty flopped down on a lime green sofa and kicked her feet up, "We should totally look into suing."

"Yes!" Pyro jabbed a finger at Kitty, "I don't wanna pay for a new couch!"

Remy pressed his lips into a thin smile, "You'd rather pay for a lawyer?"

"I could be my own lawyer." Pyro shrugged, running his finger along the edge of the leather recliner, "Save a lot of money."

Kitty rolled her eyes and rested her head back on the lime green couch, "I like this one. It's so comfy."

Remy sneered at the couch, "That is the ugliest thing in here."

"Nu-uh." Pyro shook his head, "They've got a couch shaped like a shoe over there."

"Okay, it's in the top three of the ugliest things in here." Remy relented with a smirk, looking around the showroom quickly, "What about leather? It'd be harder to set on fire."

"I don't like leather." Kitty frowned, "Too cold. And Pyro burned my afghan."

"I don't like leather either. Too expensive." Pyro pouted, "Why do I have to pay for a new couch? Can't we just get something off craigslist?"

"Ew! No!" Kitty protested, "We plan on sitting on this thing, you don't know where a craigslist couch has been. Or what has been... done on it..." She grimaced with a little shudder and Remy smiled, leaning against a TV stand.

"I hate to break it to you petite but there were plenty of things done on-"

"No." Kitty held her hand up to stop him from saying anything else, "Let me live in my happy ignorance." She turned to Pyro and put her hands on her hips, "You have to pay for a new couch because you destroyed our old one with a fire ball. I feel like this should go without saying."

"Yeah but we all use the couch. We should all go in on it together. That makes more sense."

"What's the matter?" Remy grinned, "That mystery job of yours not paying as well as you thought?"

Pyro glowered at Remy, "Shut up."

"Those drug trials don't pay much money to their test subjects, do they?" Kitty added with a wry grin.

"You suck." He snapped, before trudging away to go look at bedroom sets.

"He does have a point." Remy reluctantly admitted once Pyro was out of earshot, turning to face Kitty with a resigned frown, "If we leave it to him to pay, we'll end up with the cheapest piece of crap we can find. But if we break it up four ways, we could afford something nice."

Kitty chewed her lip and continued to walk down the tight aisle, "I don't know..."

"Think about it, a thousand bucks split four ways-"

"I know how to do the math Remy." Kitty replied flatly.

"They teach you that in college, did they?" He smiled.

"I'm saying that I don't know... if we should all buy a big ticket item together." Kitty frowned as she continued, "It just seems like a big commitment, is all."

Remy let out a deep breath as he followed a few feet behind her, "Right, I forgot about your commitment issues."

"I don't have commitment issues." Kitty rolled her eyes, "Lance is full of shit."

"No, actually, I think he's onto something there." Remy shook his head, "Too afraid to set down any roots. Can't stay in one place too long? Drop out of school, leave the X-men... we're next, hmm? You're afraid to commit to us, aren't ya petite?"

"Oh my God, shut up." Kitty sighed, "What about Pete? You think little miss stick-up-her-ass is going to want him living with us for very much longer?"

"This ain't about Pete."

Kitty stopped to check out a price tag on a brown faux suede sofa and shook her head, "But you know I'm right."

"Kitty." Remy said flatly, "I could care less if you choose to leave. I really don't give a shit about your issues, no offense. But if you're gunna leave, don't make it be over a damn couch. Get your shit together."

Her head snapped up to give him a frown, "Real sensitive, Remy."

He lifted his hands with his palms up and shrugged, "But you know I'm right..." He smiled.

"You're an ass." Kitty shook her head and looked back down at the price tag. "Besides, who are you to talk to me about commitment issues?"

"Oh, I don't have commitment issues." He flopped down on the plush sofa and stretched his arms out along the back, "Just haven't found someone worth the hassle, is all."

Kitty pressed her lips together to suppress a smile and gave him an unconvinced nod, "Sure."

"It's true. I'm a romantic at heart." He grinned up at her, "When I find that special someone I wanna screw for life, I'll lock it down."

She scrunched up her nose, "You're so crass."

"The chicks I seem to attract are always the clingy high maintenance type, chere." He explained," That ain't the kind of girl I want to be stuck with forever. I want someone I can have fun with outside of the bedroom. Someone worth talking to."

Kitty snorted, "Good luck with that one."

Remy patted the cushion next to him, "Try this one out. It's pretty cozy."

She flopped down next to him and bounced a few times before settling back into the couch. "Yeah, not bad."

"You think it'll look good in the living room?" He asked, cocking his head to further inspect the couch.

"Since when do you care what looks good in the living room?" Kitty snorted.

"Since I saw that hideous green thing over there." He jerked his thumb towards the couch Kitty had chosen earlier, "You have bad taste, petite."

"Whatever, that couch was cute."

"Sure, if you were blind." Remy grinned smugly at the sneer his comment gained him. After a few moments spent in silence as the tested the brown suede sofa, he eventually knit his brow and gave Kitty a sidelong glance, "So what are your thoughts on little miss stick-up-her-ass?"

Kitty let out a long breath and considered her words carefully before giving her head a shake, "I don't know. I guess I don't get it. They seem like such an odd pair..."

"Oh, I get it." The corner of Remy's mouth twitched upwards and he chuckled, "I bet she's really flexible..."

Kitty rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

"It is a pretty big selling point." Remy rubbed the scruff on his chin, "Plus, that body is pretty tight."

"I don't know why I talk to you." Kitty grumbled.

Remy caught sight of Piotr wandering around and flagged him down, "Come try this one out!"

Piotr sighed and reluctantly made his way over to them, settling down into the couch next to Kitty. He shrugged and ran his hand along the faux suede on the arm with a nod, "It is nice."

Kitty turned her body towards him and tucked a foot underneath her other leg, "Are you still mad?"

He shook his head silently and Kitty furrowed her brow,

"Was Anya really pissed?"

"Who cares." Remy muttered.

Kitty smacked Remy in the gut, keeping her attention fixed to Piotr as he worked the muscles in his jaw, "She will settle down, although I am not sure she will be overly willing to come back to our place."

"Well, what if we took her out for dinner or something? You know? As a 'sorry we almost killed you' gesture?" She asked, hanging her arm over the back of the sofa, "A public setting would make her feel more... um... safe."

"I will ask." He said doubtfully.

"Good." Kitty grinned, patting Piotr on the knee, "We can win her over yet. Don't worry."

He offered her a small smile, "Thank you."

Pyro cautiously came to a stop next to Piotr and offered him a sheepish smile, "Still mad at me?"

Piotr responded with a grunt and Pyro squeezed himself between him and the arm of the couch with a frown, "I swear it was an accident."

"I do not want to talk about it." Piotr clipped as he shifted closer to Kitty on the couch.

"What do you think about this one?" Remy asked, leaning forward to take a look at Pyro, "Not bad, right?"

Pyro shrugged, "It's alright, I guess."

"Good." Remy leaned back and draped his arm over Kitty's shoulders, "We figure helping you pay wouldn't be the end of the world. It's up to Pete if he wants to pitch in."

Piotr shrugged and Pyro threw his arms around him in a tight bro hug, "Oh thank God. I thought I was gunna have to start selling sperm just to afford a non-craigslist-couch."

"Ew." Kitty grimaced. "Just for that, you have to pay for delivery on your own."

Pyro snorted, "Delivery?!" He let out a chuckle and elbowed Piotr in the rib, "Frail little Sheila thinks we need to pay someone for delivery."

Piotr smirked in spite of himself and Kitty frowned, "What?"

"You really think we need someone to bring us a couch?" Remy shook his head with a condescending little smile, "We ain't the pansy ass X-men chere."

Piotr chuckled and looked down at Kitty, "It is just a sofa. I am sure we can manage."

"Hell, Pete could carry the thing inside all on his own." Pyro snorted, "If he wasn't so paranoid about using his skills in public."

"Alright, okay, I get the point." Kitty relented, pushing herself up off the couch, "But don't expect me to help. I'm not helping. You guys think you got this in the bag, then it's all on you. Y'hear me? Don't even ask."

Remy let out a curt laugh and shook his head, "I'm sure we won't need your help."

It wasn't until they had the newly purchased piece of furniture in the apartment service elevator, that Remy finally ate his words. Pyro was trying to hold the continually closing elevator door open while Piotr and he tried to maneuver the rather long sofa out past him. Kitty walked through the couch to stand in the hallway with her arms crossed and a smug little grin on her lips.

"That looks hard, guys."

"That's what she said." Pyro quipped, trying to keep his body as tight against the wall as possible to stay out of the way.

"It's really too bad there wasn't some way to just push the thing right out into the hallway without worrying about walls or doors..." Kitty continued, ignoring Pyro as she had become accustomed to doing often.

"Shut up." Remy snapped from over his shoulder, trying to back the couch out into the hall, "Lower your side a bit."

Piotr frowned, doing as Remy instructed regardless, "Why don't you just admit that we need her help and-"

"No." Remy snapped firmly, "We don't need her help. We got the old couch out just fine, without her help."

"Yes but the old couch seemed to be smaller in width-"

"We can do this." Remy grunted. The couch jammed momentarily against the side of the elevator and Kitty sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.

"Don't damage the upholstery!"

"It's not damaged." Remy barked, "Pete, push it harder."

"That's what she said." Pyro grinned.

Piotr gave the sofa a good shove, effectively dislodging it from the elevator and successfully getting it out into the hallway.

"Awesome! We're almost there! Now we just have to get it around that corner, down the hall, then around the other corner, and then another corner. But I bet the corners won't be so bad-"

"Quiet!" Remy hissed at her before she could finish mocking him.

It took them another twenty minutes to get the couch all the way down the bendy hall to their door, where Piotr and Remy dropped the couch to try and figure out how to get it inside.

"We'll have to tip it that way and get it in on an angle." Remy explained to Piotr, demonstrating with his hands what he was talking about.

Piotr knit his brow thoughtfully, "You do not think it is too big?"

"That's what she said." Pyro giggled as he meticulously cleared a path through Johnopolis for them to bring the couch in.

"No, it'll fit. It just needs to be at the right angle."

"I don't know Remy, I think its too big to fit." Kitty shook her head before turning to Pyro with her eyebrows raised expectantly.

"That's what she said!" He laughed.

"I am telling you, I've done this before. I know what I am doing. It'll fit dammit! I'll make it fit!" He clipped, hoisting up his end of the couch.

"That's what she said!"

Piotr took the other end and they both maneuvered it on an angle into the doorway. They managed to get it halfway through the door, when the couch lodged firmly into place.

"It is stuck." Piotr sighed.

"That's what she said!"

Remy set his jaw and attempted to wriggle the couch free unsuccessfully.

"It's wedged in there pretty tight, isn't it." Kitty said with a knowing nod as Pyro began to giggle again,

"That's what-" A sharp glare from Remy shut him up before he could finish his joke.

Remy let out a deep dramatic breath of defeat before reluctantly cutting his eyes to Kitty, "Alright. You can help."

Kitty furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, "I can help? I know I can help." She shrugged, "I just choose not to."

Remy clenched his jaw a few times before barring his teeth and trying again, "Will you help."

"Will I help...?"

He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, "Please."

She gave him a wide grin and playfully tapped his nose, "See? Now was that so hard?"

Pyro snorted, "That's what she said. Honestly, I'm on a roll today, ain't I?!"

Kitty strolled over to the couch and placed a hand on the back, "Ready?"

Piotr and Remy both nodded silently and Kitty phased the couch through the doorway, allowing them to get it inside the living room in one, undamaged piece. They set it down in place gently, grateful that the whole ordeal was over.

"No... See... You can't leave it there. It's too far off to the left. It's throwing he dynamics of Johnopolis all off." Pyro shook his head.

"If I hear one more thing about Johnopolis, I'm going to shove city hall so far up your ass that you'll be coughing up Lego bricks for a month." Remy snapped.

"Actually, I hate to agree with Pyro, you know, ever. But he's right." Kitty cocked her head as she eyed the couch with a squint, "It needs to move a little bit to the right."

"I am not moving that thing again." Remy shook his head, moving to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge. He pulled two out and tossed one to Piotr, "Pete, don't help him. He can move it himself."

"Aw, c'mon!" Pyro whined as he tried to shove the couch with his knee, "Just a little bit that way!"

Kitty rolled her eyes and grabbed the end of the couch, "I'll help you. How hard could it be?" She shrugged as Pyro moved into place across from her.

"It is pretty heavy." Piotr warned, "You would not want to break a nail."

"That is sexist Pete." Kitty frowned.

"I was not talking to you." He grinned.

Pyro gave him a sneer, before counting down to lift in unison. They moved the couch half a foot to the left and Pyro nodded when he was satisfied with the placement, "Alright, here's good."

The moment they bent down to place the couch back down, a sharp pain shot all the way up Kitty's spine, causing her to shout out a cuss. She leaned forward against the arm of the sofa and put a hand on her lower back with another curse.

"What did you do?" Remy frowned.

"My back!" She whimpered, "Oh my GOD! I can't move!"

"Are you okay?" Piotr put his bottled water down and moved towards her.

"Does it look like I'm okay?!" She snapped back, "I've rendered opponents twice my size immobile, and I'm brought down by a couch?!"

"Let's be realistic here," Remy held up a hand, "That's never actually happened. And, to be fair, basically everyone is twice your size."

"You probably just moved wrong and pulled a muscle." Piotr stopped next to her, offering his hand to help her stand straight.

She shouted in pain as she moved and whimpered pathetically, "It hurts!"

"That's what she said!" Pyro grinned, earning him a scowl from both Kitty and Piotr.

Remy sighed and shook his head, "Sense the room, John."