It had been a rough day at the bridal salon. Kitty had no idea how perfectly needy brides could be. She'd been working at the bridal salon for an entire week, but since it had been so slow she hadn't had the chance to deal with any brides. Until today of course.
Nothing had been good enough for this woman; The fabric wasn't soft enough, the gown was too white, the gown wasn't white enough, she wanted a sweetheart neckline and an a-line gown but she didn't like the way the a-line gown looked on her body. And the Bridezilla's family wasn't much better. They all had their opinions on cut and colour and silhouette... and at the end of the day, Bridezilla walked out empty handed.
So when she pushed through the front door and noticed the line of candles flickering on the coffee table in the living room, she let out a tired sigh and dropped her keys into the bowl by the door,
"Ugh, Pyro... I'm so not in the mood for your crap right now." She said, kicking her heels off into the closet and frustratedly yanking the hair tie out of her pony tail.
"Pyro's not home tonight." She knit her brow and tipped her head to peer around the corner into the kitchen, where Piotr gave her a smile, "There was a laser tag tournament."
She turned her attention to the island counter, noticing the candles he'd arranged at the end, and the corner of her mouth tugged up, "And Remy?"
"He has to work a double." Piotr said sliding the glass of wine across the counter for her, "It is just us tonight, so I made dinner. It'll be ready soon."
Kitty smiled and took the glass of wine, "You made dinner?"
"It's nothing special." He shrugged, "It is a cabbage soup my mother used to make when I was young. You look surprised."
Kitty shook her head as she took a seat on one of the stools, "No, it's just... I never knew you could cook. I mean, you make eggs now and then, but..."
"Well, Remy is the chef." Piotr admitted with a smile, "I just followed the recipe I found online." He sat down across from her and placed his hand over top of hers, "How was your day?"
She shook her head and let out a sigh, "Say Yes to the Dress did not prepare me for this."
He smoothed his thumb along the back of her hand and knit his brow, "I thought thing were going well."
"Well they were, but I hadn't exactly had any real customers." She said wryly before taking a big mouthful of wine.
"At least Pyro was not there today. I'm sure he would have only added to your stress."
"Oh, I'm sure." She nodded, setting her wine glass back down and sighing, "I mean, he's not all bad. He did kind of help me relax about this stupid dinner on Sunday. I can't believe you agreed to it, I only agreed to go because you agreed to go."
"No, you agreed to go because you got Rogue to spend two hundred dollars on a tiara."
She snorted, "I really hope she wears it on Sunday."
"I don't understand what you are so stressed about." Piotr said, standing up and moving back over to the oven, where he turned the burner off and began ladling the soup into the bowls, "You are making a big deal out of nothing."
"You don't understand." She muttered
"Then explain."
She pressed her lips into a thin line and let out a long breath, "They all look at me like I'm... damaged. I hated it."
He knit his brow and turned to set a bowl of steaming hot soup down in front of her, "Katya, it has been a while since they've even seen you, and you are doing great. You're not damaged. They're wrong. And they'll know that." He offered her a small smile and sat back down across from her with his own bowl, "One look at you and they will know how happy you are."
"Oh yeah?" She asked, fluffing her messy brown hair with a grin, "Do I look happy?"
"You look beautiful."
"Beautiful and happy are not the same." She pointed out, scooping her spoon out.
He smiled and gave his head a shake, "Shut up."
"Hey, don't get upset that I'm pointing out the flaw in your logic." She giggled.
"Listen, I can guarantee you that everyone will be staring at Remy anyways. Not you. Otherwise Rogue would not have begged us to come along. We are only going to be the... buffers."
"I guess. You're probably right." Kitty nodded as she dipped her spoon into the bowl thoughtfully, "Plus you know, if Rogue does wear the tiara, that would definitely take the focus off of me."
Piotr laughed and turned to grab the pepper as Kitty put the spoon into her mouth.
It took every fiber of her being not to spit the soup back into the bowl. She turned her grimace into a forced smile and said, "Mmmm...!"
"It is good?" He asked as he twisted the pepper grinder.
"Mmmhmm...!" She squeaked, forcing down a swallow before clearing her throat, "It's just a little hot." She said as she took a big gulp of wine to wash the taste of the soup- which had apparently been made using old socks- out of her mouth.
"You are just too delicate to enjoy real hot soup." He joked, as he dropped his spoon into the bowl and started to stir, "My mother used to serve it scalding hot. I'll get you some bread, it will help your tongue cool down."
"Your mother used to make this?" Kitty asked with a cough, setting her spoon back down in the soup and watching as Piotr moved across the kitchen. He nodded as he untwisted the bread bag and pulled out a slice,
"Yes, it was my sisters favorite." He knit his brow, "I imagine it still is... I just... have not been around."
Kitty frowned, "You miss them."
"Yeah." He sighed.
"I bet they're super proud of you... big hot shot American artiste." Kitty grinned.
Piotr chuckled and closed up the bread bag, "Yes, but they are more concerned with having me move back home. Apparently I can paint anywhere."
"It's a good point." Kitty smiled as he set the bread down next to her bowl and took his seat across from her, "You ever think of moving back?"
"Sure, I think about it." He shrugged, "But not seriously. I can do so much more here than I could back home."
"I still think you should at least go home for a visit." Kitty said as she picked a piece off the bread and popped it into her mouth, "As soon as you earn enough from selling off your masterpieces, you should go visit."
"Maybe I will." He smiled and lifted the spoon to his mouth, slurping it up and quickly swallowing it down with a wince, "Ugh, that is not good."
"It's not?" Kitty knit her brow as she watched him drop his spoon back into the bowl and shake his head.
"No, it is horrible." He pulled her bowl away from her and dropped it into the sink, "That is not how it tasted when I was young. You were just going to eat that?!"
"Well I don't know! I didn't want to insult Russia." She watched him pull the pot off the stove and dump it down the drain, "I just thought maybe... it was supposed to taste like old gym socks."
"I don't understand! I followed the recipe..." Piotr frowned into the pot of terrible soup, "Didn't I...? Maybe I let it cook too long..."
"It's okay Pete-"
"No. It's not. I just wanted to have this romantic evening for you..." He let out a deep breath turning to dump the two bowls into the sink, "I hope I did not ruin it for you."
"Ruined?" Kitty scoffed, pushing herself off her stool and phasing through the counter. She slipped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him, "Are you kidding me? Look at this place... you have the wine, the dim lights, the candles... A complete disregard for fire safety, it's incredibly romantic."
He dropped his chin onto the top of her head and returned her hug. "When you have lived with Pyro for so many years, a few dozen candles is the least of your concerns."
She laughed and shook her head, "I don't need soup, Piotr. We can just skip to dessert."
"I did not have dessert planned." He frowned, glancing up at the refrigerator thoughtfully, "I think maybe Pyro has some ice cream sandwiches in the freezer, but-"
"No, Piotr." Kitty smoothed her hands up his abdomen and looked up at him from beneath her thick dark lashes, "Dessert."
"Oh. Yes... that dessert." He nodded as she lifted herself to her tip toes and planted a few kisses against his throat, "Well that is much better than ice cream sandwiches anyway." He said before leaning down to kiss her.
She pulled back quickly and shook her head, "No, hang on. Rinse your mouth out with some wine or something." She instructed with a smirk, "It tastes like I'm kissing a shoe."
He nodded, quickly complying with her demand before moving back in for the kiss.
"That's better." She murmured against his mouth with a giggle as she phased them through the island counter and lead them to the living room. They settled down onto the couch bumping the coffee table in the process and nearly knocking over a few of the candles Piotr had set up.
"Please don't burn down the house." Kitty breathed as she pushed Piotr back into the cushions.
"I'd just blame it on Pyro." He grinned, until she pressed her lips back down against his. He smoothed his hands down her sides, gliding them across her silky pink blouse, down to her hips as she positioned herself over top of him, straddling his lap on the couch, "Maybe we should-" He cleared his throat and licked his lips, "Put some of these candles away."
She pushed herself back and looked down at him, "Okay..." She knit her brow as his eyes drank in every detail of her hovering above him, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes." He said quickly, closing his eyes and nodding, "I just- it is dangerous, all these candles..."
She glanced over her shoulder at the coffee table, "Is this really about candles?"
He pressed his lips together and squared his jaw, "We should talk about... you know, boundaries."
"Oh." She shifted herself off his lap and settled next to him on the couch, "Sorry. I'm always super... enthusiastic."
"No it's-" He let out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face, "It is not- This is different from normal relationships." He stammered, "It's so easy to be with you, and to feel comfortable with you, so I think we need to be extra careful..."
"You think we should slow down." Kitty said, nodding thoughtfully, "No, you're right."
"You just- you look so-" He closed his eyes again and let out another breath, "We shouldn't do anything serious until we are sure of... us."
"You're right." She agreed again, "We live together. And, we're friends. If we move too fast too soon..." She trailed off and shook her head, "We can't get caught up in the moment. Set our limits."
He nodded, "Right."
She chewed on her lip and nodded, turning her attention to the candles on the coffee table and clearing her throat, "So..." She scratched her neck and pressed her lips together, "Is making out within our limits, or...?"
"Yeah, I think we-" Her mouth was back on top of his before he could finish his sentence. She placed a hand at the base of his head and pulled him down on top of her as she settled back into the cushions. He settled against her as she hooked her leg up around him, when he suddenly jerked back,
"Seriously?" She knit her brow as she tried to steady her breathing, "This is still too fast? I'm not a nun Piotr."
His eyes darted to the door and he frowned, "I thought I heard something."
She pushed herself up on her elbow and turned to the door, watching with wide eyes as the lock unlatched and the door handle twisted. She'd never seen Piotr move so fast, as he shot up to his feet. She sat up, quickly tucking her silk shirt back into her dress pants, and when the door swung open, she plastered a casual smile on her face.
"Why the hell is the door locked? Nobody ever locks the damn door." Remy grumbled as he kicked the door shut behind him, kitting his brow at the sight of the romantic ambiance. He looked around at all the candles before looking over to Piotr who had promptly crossed the living room to discard of the wine glasses still sitting on the island counter, "What's going on?"
"Hmmm?" He asked, pressing his lips together, "What's- the door was locked?"
"Oh, I saw a thing on TV last night about... break-ins." Kitty cleared her throat and stood up, smoothing her hands through her hair, "I guess it was just a knee jerk reaction. I didn't even... I forgot about..."
"What the hell is with all the candles?" Remy frowned, dropping his keys into the bowl and looking at Piotr expectantly.
"It's a Jewish thing." Kitty said suddenly with a determined nod, "We light the candles to remember our... ancestors. And how they... would light the candles of the menorah."
"Isn't that what Hanukkah is for?" Remy asked flatly.
Kitty scoffed and shook her head, "Wow that's... super racist Remy."
"I didn't-"
"No, I mean, if you've never heard of Menorah Monday before, then just say that." She rolled her eyes and Remy furrowed his brow,
"It's Thursday." He said, crossing his arms.
"Well yeah," She shrugged, "It doesn't always fall on a Monday. Is Christmas always... Monday?"
Remy squinted at her, "What?"
"Katya thought that it would be nice to share her cultural traditions with us." Piotr said quickly, before Remy could really dwell on the load of crap Kitty was feeding him. "You know, she is really... missing her family."
Remy glanced at Piotr quickly who gave him a pointed look.
"Oh. Yeah, sure." Remy sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before crossing over to the living room and dropping down into the worn arm chair, "So what do we have to do, sing or something?"
"Yes. There's definitely singing." Kitty nodded, lowering herself back down onto the couch, "Uh, traditionally, the men will sing. In a round."
Piotr cleared his throat from the kitchen and glared at Kitty, who gave him a smile, "But since I'm guessing you guys don't know Hebrew, we might as well skip that part."
"Great." Remy pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, "I got a damn migraine..."
"I thought you had to work late today." Piotr interrupted, to save Kitty from expanding on her terrible lie.
"No, that's tomorrow." Remy said with a yawn, "And it's a damn good thing it ain't tonight. Some chick softball team came in to celebrate, and let me tell you those girls are handsy."
"I bet they have a good grip too." Piotr grinned and leaned against the kitchen counter.
"They do." Remy turned to look at Piotr, "I'm gunna have some serious explaining to do when Rogue finds all these bruises on my ass." He leaned forward in his seat and tugged the waist of his pants down at his rear to show Kitty, "Can you see any-"
"Aw come on, dude." Kitty grimaced and held up her hand, "I didn't want to see your ass crack today."
The corner of Remy's mouth tugged up as he sat back in the chair, looking back over to Piotr, "Is that food I smell in there? I'm starving..."
"Yes, did you want some?" Piotr asked, dishing some out for Remy without even bothering to wait for his response.
Kitty watched Piotr bring the bowl of soup over to Remy and slapped her hands on her knees, "Well, I think Pete said something about more driving lessons...?"
"Oh, yes." Piotr nodded as he handed Remy the bowl, "You definitely need some more."
"She's that bad, hmm?" Remy grinned up at Piotr, "Better you than me." He turned to Kitty as she stood up and shook his head, "Hang on, what about all these candles?"
"Ah, yes. You have to... blow the candles out." She nodded at Piotr, "And... make a resolution. You can manage that, right?"
Remy paused with the spoon in front of his mouth and knit his brow, "Your family traditions are messed up, petite." He snorted, popped the spoon into his mouth.
He instantly started to cough and sputter on the terrible concoction, and Piotr gave him a slap on the back,
"There is plenty of soup left, so help yourself." He said before quickly following Kitty out the front door. When they reached the end of the hall, he looked back over his shoulder and gave his head a shake, "He is definitely going to kill me later for that soup."
Kitty snorted and let out a laugh, "If the soup doesn't kill him first."
A/N- Better late then never, eh? I hope the next chapter won't be as late as this one... I'm pretty sure I've gotten over my writers block, so we should be back on schedule for the most part. (And I finished binge watching Chuck AND I beat Ocarina of Time on my kids 3DS... so seriously, I'm all out of extra hobbies. I should have time to write now.) Please review! I can't tell you guys how much I love getting reviews!