Kitty furrowed her brow at Remy from her spot on the couch, watching him hunched over the sink as he practically inhaled a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
"What are you doing?" She asked finally.
"If I eat over the sink, I don't need to use a plate." He answered between bites without even bothering to look up at her.
She shifted in her seat to stare at him better with confusion still etched on her face as he chugged down half a bottle of water.
"It's Sunday." Kitty stated, "It's your, stay the hell out of my kitchen while I make my special dinner, night. And you're eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich."
"Protein." He shrugged casually, "I have a job tonight, I need my energy."
"I thought you didn't work Sundays?" She shook her head quickly and looked back to the TV, "Never mind. I don't want to know about your sick shift change rituals."
Remy dusted the crumbs off his hands with a smile, "You sure you don't wanna hear? I could give you some pointers, petite."
"Don't." Kitty grimaced, "I'm gunna be sick."
"Gave Petey some pointers before he left for his date." Remy turned to lean against the counter and took another long drink of water.
Kitty knit her brow and pretended not to hear Remy. She'd managed to avoid Piotr for an entire day, and kept herself busy to refrain from thinking about this date. She'd planned a nice quiet evening in, watching stupid girly movies on Netflix to keep herself preoccupied and stop herself from thinking about Piotr for even a minute.
Remy was not going to ruin this for her last minute.
"I'm pretty sure bar girl will be easy though. She looked easy-"
"Hey look! Titanic is on Netflix! Titanic Remy!"
Remy offered her a smile which looked much more like a grimace, and went back to finishing his bottle of water, sensing that he'd lost her attention.
There was a quick knock on the door followed by Rogue breezing in without bothering to wait for someone to answer.
"Hey." She said to Kitty, dropping her small black purse on the counter with a frown.
"Hey..." Kitty knit her brow at Rogue's low cut red dress, "What are you-"
"I need to borrow your lipstick."
Kitty frowned, "I haven't seen you in three weeks and you drive all the way out here to borrow lipstick?"
"I know, I'm sorry," Rogue sighed, running a hand through her hair, before quickly trying to fix any damage she might have done to her perfectly arranged 'do. "Scott's been a dick lately. He's been giving me extra work, and I'm sure it's because he's sick of me spending so much time here."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Kitty muttered as she pushed herself up off the couch, "Lipstick?"
"Yes. You know, that red you bought when you kept saying you were a spring and you could pull off bright colours-"
"Prostitute red. Yes, I remember. Thanks for talking me out of that one by the way." Kitty offered her friend a wry grin before disappearing down the hall.
"Well it actually looked good on me." Rogue called out after her with a smile.
"I bet it does." Remy said with an easy grin, which caused Rogue to jump, clearly not having noticed his presence in the kitchen. He cocked his head to the side and gave her an approving nod, letting his eyes slowly rake down her form, coming to a stop on her strappy black heels, and his grin widened, "I bet it does..."
Rogue rolled her eyes at him, "Don't get any ideas."
"Oh, I have lots of ideas."
She pressed her lips into a thin smile and Kitty returned from her bedroom with a little black tube of lipstick in her hand.
"What happened to your lipstick? You have like a whole drawer of the stuff, don't you?" Kitty asked as she handed the lipstick over.
Rogue rolled her eyes dramatically and shook her head, pulling a little hand mirror out of her black clutch, "Bobby and Sam watched The Dark Knight a few days ago and decided it'd be fun to try and replicate the Joker's look." She shot Kitty a pointed look, "The morons ruined my favorite shade."
"So I take it you've got a date?"
Rogue nodded subtly as she swiped the bright red lipstick onto her lips. She smacked her lips together and re-capped the lipstick before handing it back to Kitty, "Yeah."
"It's already seven o'clock..." Kitty frowned, "Is he meeting you somewhere or something?"
"Actually..." Rogue gave Kitty a guilty smile and bit her lip, "He's meeting me here."
"What? Why?"
"Well, I thought he was starting to get weirded out by the fact that he never picks me up at home, but I'm not exactly... sure... you know..."
Kitty crossed her arms and shot out a breath, "You still haven't told him that you're a mutant."
"I'm going to! I just... want to... you know, ease into it." Rogue stated defensively.
"You're makin' a big deal out of it, chere." Remy commented, finishing up the rest of his water before turning to give her a frown, "You're gunna scare him away."
"I'm not gunna scare him away." She snapped.
"Remy's right, you're going to make him think this actually is something to be afraid of." Kitty shook her head, "Just drop it into conversation casually. Like... Wow Starbucks guy-"
"-Holden."
"-you're so talented... all I can do absorb people! Could you pass the salt?"
Rogue rolled her eyes and frowned, "Nobody would even know what that means, Kitty. He'd want an explanation."
"So you gloss over the details, and tell him he's pretty." Kitty waved her concern off.
"That works." Remy pointed at Kitty seriously, "I use that a lot."
"I'm not going to- Just-" Rogue shot out a breath and shook her head again, "Just shut up. He's gunna be here any minute, I have to go."
"Good, I'm on my way out. I'll walk you down." Remy rounded the counter and pulled his trench coat out of the hall closet. He pulled the door open for her with a wink and waited as she begrudgingly walked past him with a frown.
"Oh! I'll come too!" Kitty piped in, falling into step closely behind Rogue, "Netflix can wait. I want to meet Starbucks guy."
"Holden!" Rogue snapped. "You gunna invite Pete and Pyro down to gawk at my boyfriend too?"
"Ain't home chere, just us." Remy grinned, pulling his coat on as he trailed behind them, "Pyro's working and Pete has a date."
They all piled into the elevator and Rogue punched the ground floor button, "A date, wow. Good for him." She commented, casting a quick glance in Kitty's direction. "And everyone is... okay with this then, right?"
"Anything's better than that ballerina..." Remy muttered, crossing his arms and watching the numbers change as the elevator descended.
"Good, because... I'd hate for anyone to do anything stupid." Rogue turned back to the elevator doors. "About Pete dating someone."
Kitty's eyes cut to Rogue.
"You know, it's just... sometimes people do dumb things. And I don't think it'd be wise for people to compromise their living situation over... a relationship..."
Remy looked down at Rogue and knit his brow, "Are you talking about Pyro? Trust me, if we were going to kick him out, it'd happened already." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched the elevator doors spring open, stepping out in front of the girls, "Probably about the time he torched the couch."
He pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and bowed his head, reading a text on the screen and grumbling under his breath as he stalked through the foyer, oblivious to the pregnant stare shared by the girls behind him.
"Well, I'm glad that Pete found another girl." Rogue followed Remy out of the elevator, "I told him he could do better than Anya... you know, back when he was giving me a ride to pick up my car? The morning after the ballet? We talked about a lot."
Kitty stared at the back of Rogue's head as she strolled through the foyer, realization finally setting in. Rogue's cryptic concerns for someone made sense. Piotr had told Rogue that they'd kissed. And now Rogue was ambiguously trying to tell Kitty what a bad idea that was.
The elevator doors began to close, jerking Kitty out of her head. She squared her jaw and followed the two out to the front of the building, coming to a stop next to Rogue and turning her back to Remy who was furiously typing out a text.
"You really want to talk about dumb things people do?" Kitty inclined her head towards Remy who looked up from his phone and frowned in protest.
"Hey!"
"You look really pretty tonight, Remy." Kitty said quickly.
Remy scowled down at his phone, continuing to angrily tap out a text, "Nice save, Kittiot."
Rogue shot out a breath, "I'm just saying that-"
"I know what you're saying." Kitty lowered her voice to a low hiss, "And I'm saying that some people are perfectly capable of problem solving by themselves, and that some people don't need other people hovering over their shoulders all the time, dissecting every single decision they make and then offering their unwanted advice." She crossed her arms firmly, "And if some people did want that, they'd still be living back at the mansion, which is filled with people who are willing to let them know just how stupid their life choices are."
Rogue pressed her lips together and looked back to the parking lot, "You could have at least told me. Don't cut me out too, Kitty."
"If it had been a big deal I would have told you." She lied, "But it was a stupid mistake that I'd rather forget about. Okay?"
Rogue nodded and let out a breath, "Okay. You're right, I'm sorry."
They all stood in silence for a moment before Remy knit his brow and looked down at them, "What the hell are you muttering about?"
"Nothing Remy, go back to sexting." Kitty clipped.
"I'm not sexting. It's just... job details." He said evasively, stuffing his cell phone back into his trench coat pocket.
"Ew, is that an innuendo?" Kitty grimaced, "Because it's pretty much the same thing."
A silver Honda Accord pulled to a stop in front of them and Rogue quickly stepped forward, tossing a wave over her shoulder as she opened the passenger side door, "Okay, see you guys later!"
The raven-haired driver leaned across the centre console to look out her open door and gave the two on the curb a dashing grin, "I take it these are your roommates."
"Sure." Rogue slid into the seat and closed the door, pulling her seat belt on with a sigh as she sensed the looming need for introductions. "Holden, this is Kitty, we went to high school together, and that's Remy." She said, gesturing to each of them through the open window.
Both Remy and Kitty bent down to exchange pleasantries through Rogue's open window as she worked the muscles in her jaw impatiently.
Holden's brow puckered with a polite smile, "So, you two are a couple then?"
Kitty snorted and opened her mouth to set Holden straight when Remy wrapped an arm around her neck and tugged her in, "Oh yeah, she's my ball and chain alright."
Kitty sneered silently at him through the corner of her eye, smacking him away only when he decided to nuzzle his nose against her neck.
"She's not a fan of PDA." Remy explained her reaction with a wink. "She likes to save it for the bedroom. Firecracker in the sack, y'know..."
Kitty's cheeks turned red and she squared her jaw, "Nice to meet you, Holden. Have fun tonight, guys."
"Yeah and uh," Remy rested a hand against the hood of the car and gave Rogue a wide grin, "Keep this one away from the sweets, hmm?"
"Goodbye." Rogue said firmly, rolling the window up, and Remy stepped back snaking his arm around Kitty's waist.
Holden offered one final wave before pulling away from the curb, and once the silver vehicle was out of view, Kitty shoved Remy away from her with a grimace,
"You're all sweaty! What the hell!" She wiped her neck with the back of her hand, "Did you lick me or is this sweat?!"
Remy laughed in response.
"Why the hell are you wearing a trench coat in August anyways?" Kitty spat angrily, "This isn't Doctor Who, Remy. Ditch the coat loser."
"It's got lots of pockets. They come in handy when I'm on the job." Remy informed her with a frown, "And I'm the loser? You just referenced Doctor Who, petite. That's the pot callin' the kettle black, hmm?"
"Wait, back up." Kitty knit her brow, "What kind of job are you talking about? You mean work, right?"
Remy shrugged and nodded, "Work, job... same shit. Gotta go, see ya." He mussed up her hair before taking off, leaving her to grudgingly fix her hair as she made her way back upstairs.
The silence was a nice change, and something she would have thoroughly enjoyed any other night. But this particular evening she had to actively work at enjoying the peace and quiet as she scanned through the selection on Netflix. She eventually settled on a horribly sappy romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, and popped herself some popcorn, stretching out on the couch with the bowl propped up on her stomach. The front door opened and shut quietly an hour into the movie and Kitty sighed to herself, resigned to the fact that she'd have to watch the remainder of the movie with Pyro who would undoubtedly invite himself to join her.
She stood up and set the popcorn bowl on the table, "You're home early. Did the circus leave town?"
"If he worked for the circus, he would leave town with them." Piotr said with the hint of a smile on his lips, "You did not think that one through well enough."
She froze and blinked at him blankly, "Oh, sorry. I thought... I thought you were Pyro."
"I know."
"You're just... home. Really early." Kitty pursed her lips and cleared her throat, "How was..." She trailed off and knit her brow at his choice of attire for the evening, "Is that what you wore?"
He looked down at his golden yellow sweater and shrugged, "Yes."
"You wore the ugly yellow sweater. On a date." Kitty reiterated, as if only to clarify to herself exactly what she was seeing. "You wanted your date to bomb."
"I was in a rush." He lied.
They silently stared at one another and Kitty knit her brow, "You didn't want to go."
He didn't want to go just as much as he didn't want him to go. He'd sabotaged his own date with an ugly yellow sweater.
"You look pleased about that." Piotr commented and he dropped his keys on the island counter.
"I'm not- I mean, I'm happy you didn't- I said I did, but I didn't want-" She shot out a frustrated breath and rubbed a hand over her face, "I didn't want you to go. I don't know what to... Do about these... Feelings..." She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, "It's like... you're my best... man friend." She winced at her choice of words and shook her head, "And I- I know who Colonel Mustard is, you know, so... That was horrible. I don't know what's wrong with me. Is it really warm in here?" She glanced nervously towards the windows, "I feel like it's suddenly really-"
Piotr crossed the room with his eyes fixed on hers, pulling her in towards him with his hand on the base of her head, and kissed her. She relaxed in his arms, smoothing her hands up his torso to his chest, as the fog lifted from her mind and she allowed herself to finally accept it. Everything suddenly seemed so clear as if all of her senses were working in over time as she listened to the thrumming of her excited heart beating in her ears.
"Wait." Kitty said breathlessly, pulling away from his embrace just far enough to grab a handful of the golden yellow sweater and phasing it off of him with a quick tug, tossing it somewhere behind her, "It's too distracting."
He smiled as she raked her hand along the white t-shirt he wore beneath, "That's much better." She grinned, lifting her other hand to feel as well, "Oh yes, much better."
He closed the space between them again, pulling her in for another kiss, the two of them fumbling their way back to the couch. Kitty found it first, tugging Piotr down with her without breaking contact.
"We can do this, right?" Kitty breathed as he moved down her throat, "I mean, we can make it work."
"Of course." Piotr murmured against her collarbone while she worked her fingers through his hair.
"It won't get weird? You don't think it'll..." She trailed off as he moved up her neck, managing to say only "...roommates..."
Piotr let out a breath and backed off, "Maybe we should just... take it slow."
"Yeah." Kitty cleared her throat, "Just, you did just get out of a relationship."
He nodded, "Yes."
"And maybe we shouldn't tell the guys."
"Until we are sure." Piotr agreed.
Kitty smoothed a hand through her hair as she slowly tried to compose herself, "So what do we do now?"
"Well, I think we should stop until we go on a real date."
She sighed and nodded reluctantly, "Yeah. You're right. Don't put the horse before the carriage."
Piotr squinted thoughtfully, "The horse goes before the carriage."
"Whatever." Kitty breathed, using her hand to fan herself off. Piotr turned to look at her, a smirk dancing across his lips.
"What...?" She knit her brow with a smile when she noticed the mischievous look on his face.
"Nothing." He shrugged casually, lifting a hand to brush the hair away from the spot on her neck he'd just been nibbling on, "It's just... I might have found a use for your turtlenecks after all."
A/N- Nope, I have nothing pithy to say. I tried thinking of something all cute and clever... but apparently my brain isn't functioning at max. capacity this morning. So, just like, review. Me like reviews.