"This is exactly where I want to be on my night off." Remy grumbled. He pulled the chair back, scraping it along the floor and flopping down in it. He shot a glare towards Kitty as she sat down to his left, "Chili's."

"What are you bitchin' about?" Rogue rolled her eyes, lifting a menu up and glancing over the selection, "You get the employee discount."

"Ain't worth it." He pouted, watching Piotr slide into the booth across from him. Pyro sat at the end of the table across from Rogue and offered Remy a shit eating grin,

"What's the soup de jour, mate?"

Remy muttered some very unsavory comments in his native language and Piotr nervously glanced at his watch, "She is running late, but I am sure she will be here soon."

"I get why we're havin' this dinner and all, you know, to apologize for being us," Pyro turned to Piotr with a frown, "But why's she here." He jerked a thumb towards Rogue who looked up from her menu with a shrug.

"I'm here for the show."

Piotr let out a breath and worked the muscles in his jaw, prompting Kitty to give Rogue's shin a kick from under the table.

Rogue to give her eyes a roll and look back down at her menu,

"I'm kidding. What, I'm not allowed to tag along? Just because Remy and I aren't layin' the pipe anymore, I'm suddenly not allowed to hang out?" She snorted and gave her head a shake, "Looks like you're gunna have to start puttin' out there Kit."

"You have got to stop absorbing Logan, Rogue." Kitty shook her head with a deep frown, "You sound like a dirty trucker."

Remy gave Rogue a nostalgic half smile, "I miss her already."

"Sorry buddy," Rogue shrugged, "If Starbucks Guy doesn't work out you can lace those work boots back up, how's that sound?"

Piotr pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, "Please just... be nice." He let out a breath and continued to shake his head, "Normal. Please just be normal."

"So you want us to act like Leave it to Beaver." Remy summarized with a scoff, "He's censoring us."

"What is the big deal with this girl, Pete?" Rogue dropped her menu and folded her hands on top of it, "I gotta say, she sounds like a big pain in the ass. She'd better be worth the headache."

Pyro snorted, "She's a ballerina, Rogue. A ballerina! Think of the stamina she'd have..."

"She is not a headache." Piotr frowned, ignoring Pyro's insinuation, "I care about her. We have a lot in common-"

"Like what?" Remy snorted, "Sex doesn't count." He hesitated, looking at Kitty through the corner of his eye quizzically, "Right?"

Kitty gave him a silent reassuring nod.

"We both have similar backgrounds." Piotr explained, "We understand one another."

"Alright, so you're both from Russia and you both speak Russian." Rogue summarized, "What else?"

Piotr knit his brow, "No, that is not what-" he looked up past Rogue with a smile, bringing their conversation to a close, "Anya."

"I am sorry I'm late." She said, clutching her purse close to her body, "Rehearsal ran late." She slid into the booth next to Piotr, resulting in her sitting directly across from Remy, "I hope you were not waiting long."

"Not at all, chere." Remy gave her his best charm-oozing smile, "Besides, you're worth the wait."

Anya pressed her lips into a line and nodded, tucking a few stray red hairs behind her ear as she adjusted in her seat, avoiding making any eye contact with him.

A bottle blonde waitress came to a stop next to their table with a polite smile, "Can I get you guys something to drink?" She caught sight of Remy and recognition glimmered in her eyes, "Oh hey Remy!"

Remy offered her a tight lipped smile, "Cindy." He said with a nod.

She gave Pyro's shoulder a friendly little squeeze, "I'm not used to seeing you guys here in such a big party. What can I get you?"

"The usual for us," Remy jerked his thumb between the three guys, "She'll have the same." He inclined his head towards Rogue, "And she'll have something fruity with a stupid mini umbrella." He nodded towards Kitty.

Cindy nodded as she scribbled the orders down on her notepad, and Rogue frowned at Kitty,

"I know I should feel offended right now, but he was right, wasn't he?"

Kitty shrugged and gave her a nod, "How about you Anya?" She asked in an attempt to make new girl feel welcome.

"I will just have water."

"Ahhh, just water?!" Pyro frowned at Anya, leaning back casually in his chair and looking up at Cindy with a wink, "Why don't you get her an apple martini, on me?"

"No." Piotr said quickly, looking up at Cindy with a smile, "No apple martini's." He looked back at Pyro and glared, knowing that an apple martini was what he would order when he was secretly requesting the birthday song.

"Okay, I'll be back with those drinks in a minute." She gave Piotr an understanding nod before offering Remy a parting wink as she turned on her heel and left.

"So that's Cindy." Rogue grinned, "Funny, I never pictured you with a blonde."

Remy dropped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his fist with a smarmy smile, "You enjoy picturing Remy with other women, Rougey?"

"Oh yeah, that's how I get my rocks off." Rogue snorted, getting her a swift kick to the shin underneath the table.

Kitty gave her a wide-eyed warning look as Anya knit her brow at Rogue,

"You two are... together?"

"Hmm?" Rogue blinked, suddenly remembering Piotr's plea for normalcy, "Us?"

"No." Remy chuckled, draping his arm over the back of his chair, "We just fool around-"

Kitty stomped on his foot and he concealed a wince, "Play around. Like that. You know fun repartee..." He added, sliding Kitty a sharp glare through the corner of his eye.

Anya folded her hands on her lap and nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the condiments in the centre of the table, "I see."

"I have actually started seeing someone." Rogue looked at Piotr in an attempt to backpedal the conversation a bit, "I mean, it's only been one date, but we're going out again on Saturday, so that's good."

After a small lull in the conversation, Kitty sucked in a breath and straightened her back with a smile, "So Anya, how is the show coming along?"

"Fine." Anya answered, looking up at Kitty with a tiny nod, "It is hard to believe that the show opens so soon, but I am sure we will be prepared."

"Good!" Kitty nodded with a little bit too much enthusiasm, "Practice makes perfect right?"

Anya replied with a stale smile.

There was yet another awkward lull in the conversation as they all went over the menu, deciding what would be the fastest meal to consume in order to get this dinner from hell over with. Eventually, Pyro slapped the table with a triumphant smile,

"We got a new couch!" He announced, as if he'd spent the entire time just trying to think of something to say.

"We did!" Kitty pointed at him and nodded in agreement.

"It's brown." Remy added for good measure, and Rogue snorted, laughing silently into her menu.

"Kitty threw her back out moving it in." Pyro shrugged and tossed his menu on the table, "We all tried giving her a good rub down but-"

Kitty gave Pyro a swift kick in the shin to shut him up, but the damage was done. Anya's eyebrows shot up into her hairline and she turned her scandalized attention to Kitty.

"It's not like that."

"Sure as hell sounded like it." Rogue muttered, earning her a murderous glare from Kitty. She quickly turned back to Anya and shook her head,

"I couldn't move, I was off work for two days over it." She explained.

"She is still having trouble with it." Piotr supplied.

Anya lifted her chin slightly as she stared Kitty down, "A bad back is a sign of poor posture."

Kitty blinked before nodding slowly, "Okay."

They were in danger of enduring some more awkward silence when Piotr put his arm around Anya and turned his attention towards Rogue, "So you had a date, yes? How did that go?"

Rogue looked up, glancing at Kitty quickly before nodding, "It was fine Pete," She pursed her lips, "We went down to the malt shop and shared a milk shake, and he almost held my hand! Can you believe it?!"

Piotr did not look amused by her sarcasm, but everyone else -excluding Anya- laughed along with her.

Cindy returned with her tray of drinks and Kitty let out a sigh of relief. She placed the drinks in front of everyone, maybe lingering a moment longer than necessary in front of Remy before straightening up and tucking the tray under her arm,

"Are you all ready to order?"

"Is there anything on the menu that is vegan friendly?" Anya asked looking up at Cindy with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhhhm... I'm not..." She looked at Remy and shrugged, "I guess I could check with the cook?"

Anya sighed, "I will just have a plate of steamed vegetables."

The other five placed their orders, and Cindy scribbled them all down quickly before tucking her pen back into her half apron with a smile. She glanced around quickly before leaning down next to Remy, letting her lips brush his ear as she whispered,

"I have a couple of shifts I need to switch..."

Remy cleared his throat, ignoring the sharp look Piotr was sending his way, "Yeah we can... discuss that later."

"Some more of that fun repartee?" Anya asked snidely.

Rogue sucked in a breath, preparing to give Anya an earful when Remy put a hand on her knee and gave it a tight squeeze, keeping the polite smile on his face.

"You might say that, chere." He replied, unable to make eye contact with her at all, "Although there isn't much repartee going on."

"You know," Kitty cut in, thoughtfully pointing in the direction Cindy walked off in, "She's really pretty. But that red shirt is totally not her colour."

Piotr smirked, grateful for the sudden change of subject. "Is that so?"

"Oh absolutely. She is definitely a Summer." Kitty nodded with a grin, "They can't handle that kind of depth of colour."

"You just said they," Piotr smiled back, "I thought you said you were a Summer."

"I've been thinking about what Janice from accounting said." Kitty's brow pinched together playfully, "She may be onto something. I could totally be a Spring."

Anya knit her brow and looked between Kitty and Piotr, "I am confused, you are talking about seasons?"

"This is Katya's fall back plan," Piotr explained, keeping his wry grin fixed on Kitty, "She is going to become a style consultant."

"It's not a bad idea!" Kitty laughed, "I made you look good."

"I am sorry, Katya?" Anya raised an eyebrow, looking back to Piotr, "You call her Katya."

"It's just a name." Kitty said, sensing Piotr's hesitation.

"It just seems very..." Anya cleared her throat, looking back at Kitty, "Intimate."

"No," Piotr chuckled with a casual wave, "It is nothing-"

"It's an American thing, Sheila." Pyro supplied, "Roommates give each other goofy nicknames here."

"So, you all have a nickname for Katya?" Anya asked Pyro with a quirked eyebrow.

"Course we do. Besides," Remy cut in with a smooth grin, draping his arm over Kitty's shoulders, "You don't need to worry about this one. Everyone knows she's kind of got a thing for me." He looked down at her with a wink, "Ain't that right, minette?"

Kitty furrowed her brow at him with a grimace before eventually picking up Remy's cue, "Oh! Yes, it's true. I find Remy very sexually attractive. But sadly, we can never be together. His heart belongs to another."

Anya looked Remy in the eye for the first time and her brow pinched with sincerity, "It is very good that you are able to find women who are not off-put by your obvious... um... disfigurement?"

A thick silence fell over the table. Remy's smile instantly turned stale as he held Anya's stare. She looked up at Piotr after a few moments "I am sorry... is that not the right word? I am-"

"No, petite, it's fine." Remy gave her a calm smile, "You're right, it can be hard for people to see past certain things. I am pretty lucky."

She gave him a tight lipped smile and uncomfortably shifted her eyes away.

"It's really not a disfigurement." Rogue clarified as nicely as she could make herself, feeling Remy's hand squeeze her knee again, a little bit tighter than necessary.

Anya frowned at Rogue, "I did not mean-"

"Anybody wanna see a trick?" Pyro cut in with a wide grin, holding his lighter out in front of Anya. Everyone answered with a firm and unanimous no, and Pyro pouted before taking a long swig of his beer.

"You'll burn a friggin' hole in the table." Kitty mumbled, "And I am not helping you pay for a new Chili's table."

Remy chuckled with a snort, "I'm more concerned about my face. Don't give a shit about the damn table." He took a swig of his beer before letting out a breath and announcing that he was going out for a smoke, snatching the lighter away from Pyro, just in case.

He made his way outside, rounding the building to the back, sitting down hard on one of the cement blocks in the alley where people take their smoke breaks.

Leaning back against the brick wall, he scrubbed a hand over his face with a sigh of relief. Sweet silence. Even if the alley way smelled faintly of garbage, it was still better than sitting across the table from that woman. He was trying. He was trying so hard to like her for Piotr's sake, but she was just fundamentally unlikeable. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, inhaling deeply to let the nicotine help calm him down. After a few minutes, he heard someone clear their throat. His eyes popped open and Rogue offered him a half smile.

"You okay?"

"Fine." He shrugged, "I just have this horrible ringing in my ears, but it seems to be gone now."

She laughed, sitting down next to him on the cement block and folding her hands on her lap. "I almost reached across that table and punched her snobby little nose in."

"I know you did." Remy laughed lightly, "It's fine, Rogue. I'm used to it."

"Just because you're used to it doesn't make it fine." Rogue countered, looking at him through the corner of her eye, "You don't deserve that."

He took another hit of his cigarette, blowing out the smoke in a long breath as he rested his head against the brick wall, "You're readin' too far into it, chere. I'm fine."

"Don't you chere me." Rogue raised an eyebrow, "I'm not reading too far into jack shit. I know you, Remy. And if you say the word fine again, I'll bitch slap you."

He pursed his lips and knit his brow, staring at the building across from him silently.

"What are you doing out here anyways, you don't smoke." Remy asked, taking another puff, "Unless Remy's startin' to rub off on you in more ways than one? Hmm?" The corner of his mouth tugged upwards and Rogue gave him a pointed look.

She didn't bother answering his question, instead slipping her hand into the crook of his arm and pulling him closer, "There's nothing wrong with you."

He nodded silently. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Remy flicked the butt of his cigarette away and stood up.

"You good?" She asked, accepting his proffered hand and allowing him to help her to her feet before dusting off the seat of her pants.

"Yep." He said with a single nod, leading the way back inside.

When they'd made it back to the table, their dinner had arrived and everyone had already begun, likely in order to make this horribly uncomfortable time go by as quickly as possible. Remy returned to his seat across from Anya as she was informing Piotr of the caloric value in the steak he was about to eat.

"Actually, she's right." Remy shook his head, reluctantly agreeing with the girl, "Basically everything on the menu is loaded with sodium. I never eat here, unless I'm forced to..." He glared at Kitty through the corner of his eye.

"You work here though, yes?" Anya asked her steamed vegetables.

"I'm a bartender."

She slid her gaze to Pyro and quirked an eyebrow, "Do you work?"

"Yep." Pyro answered simply before proceeding to cram a handful of fries into his mouth.

Anya pressed her lips together in a small insincere smile, waiting for him to elaborate further.

When Pyro realized this he swallowed hard and cleared his throat, "Oh you know... it's really not a big deal. It's just- I don't- It's just a... day job." He shrugged, shifting uncomfortably in his chair when he realized everyone else was waiting to hear his answer as well. "I'm... in the service industry." He nodded, considering this for a moment before nodding more enthusiastically, "Yeah. The service industry."

Kitty narrowed her eyes, "Mail carrier."

"Butler." Remy grinned.

"Ooh!" Rogue lit up, "Cabana Boy!"

Piotr grinned at Anya's very confused reaction and shook his head, "He has never told us specifically what he does."

Anya frowned, "That is odd."

"We figure it's probably something pretty embarrassing." Kitty explained, "Like Hooters!"

"McDonalds." Rogue pointed at him with her fork.

"Janitor at McDonalds."

Pyro sneered at them, dropping his attention to the food on his plate with great interest.

"It is likely something immoral." Anya said as she stabbed her fork into some steamed broccoli, "Like a male stripper."

"No, we already tried that one." Kitty shook her head, "Although he says he works from home, which isn't entirely true. I've seen him "go to work" a few times, so I wouldn't put it past him to lie..."

"It really would make the flame design more understandable." Rogue added sensibly, making Kitty cringe and take a nice long gulp of her umbrella drink.

Anya scrunched up her nose, wisely deciding not to inquire any further when suddenly her purse began to sing Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. "Oh no," She muttered, digging her phone out of her purse. She inspected the display, glancing up at Piotr with a frown, "It is my Director. I have to take this."

She punched the talk button and slid out of the booth and scurried for the front door.

Piotr smiled hopefully, "It is going well, right?"

Kitty pressed her lips into a thin line once she realized no one else was jumping out of their seats to answer, "Sure." She smiled.

"She is nervous." He explained, "She wants to make a good impression."

Kitty's grin wavered slightly and she gave him a slow nod, "Sure."

Piotr turned to Remy with a frown, "I am sure she did not mean... you know."

"Sure." Rogue clipped pointedly.

Anya returned to the table and shot out a breath, "One of the dancers broke her ankle, doing a pole dance on a bar." She explained, "We all have to go back and rehearse with the understudy."

Piotr knit his brow and nodded, "Oh, of course. I will walk you out." He said, handing her purse to her before sliding out of the booth. She slipped her phone back inside and gave them all a small, award smile and wave,

"It was," She hesitated, "Interesting."

"Take care!" Kitty called out after them as they turned to leave, "Why couldn't he have brought home the one who broke her ankle? Pole dancing on a bar... that chick sounds like fun." She muttered, gaining her a silent fist bump from Pyro.

X-X-X-X

Piotr put his hand on the small of Anya's back, leading her through the restaurant and out the front door. She lead the way to her compact car unlocking the door with the key fob and turned to Piotr with a smile.

"That went better."

She splayed her hands on his chest and tipped her chin up to look him in the eye as his arms circled around her, "It was... alright, I guess. They seem a little, I don't know. Immature."

"You will get used to their ways." He said with a wry grin, "I want you to be comfortable coming home with me. You know you are always welcome."

"About that." Anya began, sliding her hands up his chest and resting her arms around his neck, "I was thinking that, it would be nice if we had some more privacy."

"Okay?"

"I think you should move in with me."

Piotr blinked at her for a moment silently, "Really?"

"I know it is soon. We have not been dating long, but I think it would be good for you. To be... on your own. You are a grown man Piotr," Anya stated as she twisted her fingers into his hair, "You do not need to be living with the Three Stooges."

Piotr knit his brow and shook his head, "I don't-"

"Just think about it, yes?"

He thought for a minute, before giving her a nod, "I will think about it."

"Good." She grinned, standing on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips, "I know you will make the right choice."