A/N- I tried to get this chapter done in order to post yesterday, but I got mega distracted while writing, by watching the women's Olympic hockey game. It was thrilling... And I'm not even exaggerating.

Feel free to mock my Canadian-ism. That's not even a word.

Anyway, I managed to finish last night, better late than never. I hope you guys enjoy this one... it's been a long time coming...

(PS, Kitty got the twitters! Follow us The_Kittiot for updates on upcoming chapters, like if I hit another wall and don't update for a month. You'll *know* that now.)

The humidity of late summer had finally broken, making the mid September evening slightly more brisk than usual, and as the unlikely group of four came to a stop in front of the ornate wooden doors of the School for Gifted Youngsters, Kitty rubbed her arms anxiously. They all stood perfectly still, listening to the sound of the breeze rustling through the rosebushes, before Remy finally cleared his throat,

"I'm not an expert on doors or anything, Kitty, but I'm pretty sure it's standard procedure to let the people on the other side know you're there by knocking."

"Maybe this is how they do it at the mansion," Pyro shrugged. balancing a pecan pie carefully on each hand , "You know, mental exercise for the telepaths inside or something? Tonight's gunna be great, I'm gunna learn so much..."

Kitty's eyes widened as he looked back at her and she shook her head, "Why do I have to knock?! She's your stupid girlfriend."

"This is your old house." He pointed out, "You're supposed to be here for support."

Pyro frowned, "Someone knock, these pies are gettin' heavy." He said, lifting the pies he had balanced on the palms of his hands up for Remy to see, "And my nose is itchy. Kitty, scratch my nose, would ya?"

Piotr rolled his eyes, "I will knock-"

"No." Kitty stopped him, putting her hand on his forearm with a frown, "I'll knock. I can do this."

"She's a woman of many talents." Remy muttered sarcastically, and Kitty turned to glower at him before defiantly stomping up to the door, phasing through him in the process.

"Hey! Come on!" Remy protested, dusting himself off, "You know I don't like it when you do that. It gives me a chill..."

"I'm not a ghost, you moron."

"You don't know what kind of long term effects just walkin' through people could have." Remy pointed out as he smoothed his hands along his torso as if to check for any signs of damage, "How do you know you can't get pregnant from that shit?"

"Ew!" Kitty cried, over the sound of Pyro's cackling laughter.

Piotr knit his brow, "I do not think it works like that."

"I know how it works." Remy smirked.

"God, could we please stop discussing this?" Kitty turned her glare to Pyro, who was still laughing, "If you don't shut up, I will smash that pie into your face so hard-"

Before she had a chance to finish her train of thought, the two heavy wooden doors swung open and Rogue let out an exasperated breath, "Why the hell are you just standin' out here like a bunch of idiots?!"

Remy cleared his throat, "We were just-"

"I don't care," Rogue interrupted, grabbing his wrist and yanking him inside, "Bobby buzzed ya'll in like 8 minutes ago, Logan's already in there grumbling that you guys are outside smokin' doobies."

"Doobies?" Remy snorted as Rogue dragged him through the foyer, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure the other three were following, "Does he think we drove here in the Mystery Machine?"

Rogue turned to frown at him from over her shoulder, her anxiety over the evening written clearly all over her face, "Don't make jokes like that."

He quickly stepped in front of her, forcing her to come to an abrupt stop, and nearly causing a domino effect behind her with Pyro barely managing to keep hold of the pies.

Remy paid no mind to the irritated comments of his companions for nearly causing a pile up in the mansion foyer, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a calming smile as he smoothed the back of his finger along Rogue's tight jaw, "Are you stressed?"

She squared her jaw and exhaled from her nostrils, about to respond to his very stupid question, when her gaze suddenly drifted beyond him, "What the hell are you doing, Bobby?"

Bobby Drake cleared his throat, standing straighter when Remy turned to see who Rogue was addressing, and politely inclined his head, "Good evening," He smiled broadly, "I can take your coats."

All five of them stared at Bobby silently before Kitty knit her brow, "None of us have coats on, Bobby."

"Ah... yes. I... see that." He nodded.

"Seriously, what the hell?" Rogue repeated with a frown, "I told you not to act like an idiot."

"I'm not acting like an idiot." He said, lowering his voice a notch, "I'm being hospitable."

"I'm pretty sure you're bein' an idiot." Pyro said with a nod, and Kitty elbowed him in the rib, which caused him to squeak like a little girl and drop one of the pies. A split second before the dish hit the floor, it stopped.

"Whoops!" Jean smiled, her hand extended as she mentally lifted the pie up and telepathically brought it to herself, letting it drop down onto her palm, "That was close!"

"I was just testin' you." Pyro said with a casual shrug.

Her grin widened as she looked at each of them, "It's great to see you guys again. Come on into the dining room, we're just setting the table." She turned to Bobby and handed him the pie, telekenetically lifting the other from Pyro's hand and transferring it to Bobby as well, "Take these to the kitchen please."

Jean led them to the dining room, which was bustling with activity until they stopped in the doorway, at which point everyone stopped what they were doing to openly stare. Rogue sucked in a breath and squeezed Remy's hand tightly,

"Everyone; guys. Guys..." She tossed a hand towards the dining room, "Tabby, Amara, Jamie, Logan, Ray, Storm and the Professor." She jerked her thumb at Jean, "And you remember Jean and Scott."

Professor Xavier offered a disarming smile as he wheeled himself to his usual spot at the head of the table, "Welcome, please make yourselves at home." His eyes turned to Kitty and his warm smile grew, "Thank you for coming."

She gave him a nod as she uncomfortably wrung her hands in front of her, following Piotr to the table and sitting down between him and Pyro.

"Thanks for inviting us." Pyro smiled, dropping his elbows onto the table with an awkward clank. "It's nice to be able to drive in through the front gates without worryin' about that stupid security system you guys got."

Rogue let out a strained laugh, before shooting Pyro a sharp glare.

"Uh..." Piotr cleared his throat and exchanged a look with Kitty, "You have a very beautiful home."

Remy smirked, "Yeah, it's nice to see it with the lights on-" The smirk was quickly wiped off his face by a quick jab in the side and he frowned down at Rogue, "It ain't a secret that I've broken in a few-"

"So! How's everyone been?" Kitty asked, clapping her hands together in an attempt to quickly change the subject. She looked around at the faces and knit her brow, "Where's Jubilee and Kurt?"

"They're just in the kitchen finishing up." Storm said with a polite nod. "Jubilee has been attending culinary school and insisted on preparing everything herself."

"She's using you as her guinea pigs." Logan crossed his arms with a smile, "Hope you like your chicken undercooked."

"Ignore him, she's been doing really well." Scott stated with a matter of fact nod, "She's quite talented, actually."

"Wow," Kitty's eyebrows raised and she glanced over to Rogue quickly, "I didn't even realize she was interested in... food."

"What about you?" Storm folded her hands politely and tipped her head to the side.

"Oh... you know... I get by."

"She just started a job at a bridal salon." Remy said, ignoring the way Kitty anxiously clenched her jaw, "She's pretty good too. This girl could sweet talk the panties off a nun, I'll tell you that much."

She laughed awkwardly and balled her hands up into fists, "Let's not get carried away-"

"It is true." Piotr said with a smile, cutting her off before she could finish her weak protest, "Do not sell yourself short."

Kitty grinned back at Piotr, "Well, I did manage to talk an angry looking goth chick into buying a tiara earlier this week, so I can't be doing too bad."

"Just think of how accomplished you could have been by now if you'd stayed in school." Scott said suddenly, effectively squashing the light banter dead in its tracks. He cleared his throat as he looked around at the uncomfortable faces at the table, "I didn't mean... I don't mean that you're not-"

Scott was saved from his verbal blunder by Jubilee entering the dining room, flanked by Kurt and Bobby with their arms filled with trays of food.

"Oh thank God." Kitty muttered to Piotr under her breath, exchanging a friendly smile with Jubilee as she arranged the dinner on the table. "This looks great Jubes."

Jubilee's face lit up as she set down a bowl of steamed vegetables and wiped her hands off on her thighs, "Thanks! I've been working hard on it all day, I really hope you guys like it." She turned her attention to the group as a whole and knit her brow, "Make sure you guys don't hold anything back, I need to write up a summary of how everyone enjoyed the meal, so be honest."

Kurt set a tray down on the table and quickly glanced at Kitty. "Hey Kurt, it's good to see you." She said with a warm smile. Rather than respond in kind, he humphed and lifted the lid off of the platter, sending up a plume of steam between them.

"Yeesh..." Kitty mumbled, and Piotr discreetly took her hand beneath the table and gave it a squeeze of encouragement.

Logan knit his brow at the tray Kurt had unveiled and leaned forward for a better view, "What the are those? Mini chickens?"

"They're Cornish Hens!" Pyro piped in happily, "Is that pear salad I see over there?"

Bobby set the bowl down and shrugged, "I dunno, smells like pears I guess."

"Pear salad?" Jamie grimaced.

"Yes, it's good, trust me. You'll like it." Jubilee said with a firm nod before taking her seat and tucking herself in.

Once the bustle of dishing out dinner had finished and everyone had their plates full, everyone settled into happily enjoying their meal, ignoring the awkward silence that had fallen over the table, broken up every now and then by the odd scrape of cutlery against dinnerware.

"So, Remy." Professor Xavier began with a light smile, "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself."

Remy blinked at the Professor, his fork hovering mid air with a steamed carrot stabbed onto the end, before clearing his throat and shooting a glance towards Rogue, "Not sure there's much to tell." He said, lowering the fork back down to his plate, "I mean... it ain't like we're exactly strangers, non?"

Everyone turned back to Professor Xavier, awaiting his response, and he chuckled, "I suppose that is true. But this is a different context now, isn't it?"

"I... guess so."

"What have you been doing with yourself lately?" He asked with his inviting smile, lifting the fork to his mouth as he waited for Remy's reply.

"Oh... you know... this an' that-"

"He's a bartender." Rogue said, glancing over at Remy quickly before smiling back at Professor Xavier, "He's pretty good too. You know, his regulars seem to like him."

"They tip real well." The corner of Remy's mouth tugged up, "If you can deal with the man handling."

"So you're not thieving anymore?" Amara asked innocently, only to receive a table full of slack jawed stares.

"Oh my God, Amara, you can't just ask someone if they're still a thief." Jubilee stated with a frown.

"No, it's okay." Remy grinned across the table at the two girls and gave Amara a wink, "She gets to the point, I like that."

"Are you and Rogue sleeping together?" Jubilee asked, clearly taking that as an invitation to ask whatever personal questions she wanted.

"Jubilee!" Storm admonished while Tabby choked on her own laughter.

"You can't ask shit like that." Logan barked.

"What?!" Jubilee asked innocently, "I just wanted to know if... you know..."

"Oh, we know, petite." Remy pressed his lips into a thin line, "Unfortunately, a gentleman doesn't kiss an' tell."

Kitty snorted and coughed on a piece of carrot.

Rogue shot her a glare before turning back to Jubilee, "Nobody asks you about your bedroom habits, Jubilation Lee. Mind your own goddamn business."

Ray leaned over to Bobby and whispered, "That would be a big yes."

"What's with the cards?" Jamie asked, knitting his brow with great interest as he looked across the table at Remy, "I mean, can you throw other stuff too? Or is it just cards?"

Remy stared blankly at the younger mutant before clearing his throat and giving his head a shake, "No, I can-"

"Could you throw like, business cards too?" Bobby asked. "Uno cards? Greeting cards? Or does it have to be playing cards?"

"No, I can charge up anything, I just choose to use playing cards." Remy said with a frown.

"Greeting cards would be too thick." Scott said thoughtfully, "It'd mess up the weight distribution and throw off his aim."

"So why don't you just keep a crap load of money in your pocket?" Ray asked with a chuckle, "That's a whole hell of a lot easier to throw than cards."

Remy knit his brow with a frustrated breath and shook his head, "Well it's about finesse-"

"Hang on there Ray, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to destroy money. It's technically property of the government, you can't just go around blowing it up." Scott furrowed his brow and looked over at Remy, "You know that right?"

"You seriously think he cares about that, Scooter?" Logan snorted, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig of beer, "The guy breaks into peoples houses for a living."

"Have you ever been arrested?" Jamie asked Remy with a glimmer of excitement in his eye.

"Nah," A trace of a smile returned to Remy's face, "That would mean I'd been caught."

"Almost been though, hmm?" Pyro said absently as he cut up his meat, "Remember when we broke into that diner Kitty got fired from and set fire to the kitchen? That one was cuttin' it pretty close."

Everyone's eyes were on Pyro as he cut his meat in blissful ignorance, until he looked up and realized everyone was staring at him. The smile disappeared from his face and he looked over at Kitty with wide eyes, "Well... I mean... it's not like we broke in just to set fire to the place. We were just tryin' to steal a paycheck."

"We didn't break in." Kitty said quickly, "The diner was open. And it was my paycheck..." She smiled innocently, "They were trying to help..."

"We are very helpful." Piotr added with a small grin before lifting his glass to his mouth to take a drink.

"You sound really familiar." Tabby said suddenly, pointing at Pyro with her fork and a big chunk of meat dangling off the end of it, "Have we... met before?"

"We've met them dozens of times before, idiot." Ray rolled his eyes, earning him a sharp warning look from Storm. "Well we have!"

"No, I mean... outside." Tabby tipped her head thoughtfully, "Say "I'm sorry miss, we don't serve vodka at Sonics.""

Pyro straightened up a little in his seat and frowned, glancing over at Kitty, "What-"

"It's your voice. I can't place it." Tabby shook her head, "Wait, are you the spin master at the Rainbow Room? Try this one; "On Daniel Radcliffe Appreciation Night, bitches drinks are half price.""

Kitty, Remy and Piotr all looked over at Pyro, silently wondering if this is an actual possibility and Pyro shook his head, "No, I'm not-"

"Cover the top half of your face and lift up your shirt." Tabby instructed.

"What?! No! I'm not a stripper!" Pyro said emphatically, turning to Piotr and Kitty, "I'm not!"

"Ask me if I've been a naughty girl." Tabby continued stubbornly, despite the way everyone was staring at her. "Just say spank."

Pyro's face grew red and Amara turned to her with wide eyes,

"What kind of stuff do you do?!"

"Tabitha please." Professor Xavier interrupted before she could go on any further, "We've talked about this. Company manners."

"I'm not being rude." Tabby protested.

"Well you're definitely not being polite." Jean said quickly.

Scott cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned his attention to Piotr, "So uh, what about you Piotr. Please tell me you're the normal one."

Piotr grinned, "I am-"

"So is Magneto really that tall in real life? We only ever saw him... hovering." Amara asked Piotr with a smile, "And that cape really messes with his vertical line."

"Uh, yes." Piotr shrugged, "I suppose he's tall-"

"Not to him." Ray pointed at Piotr with his fork, "Look at him, he's like a giant. He's like a... Colossus."

"Haha, oh Ray, you're so clever." Kitty laughed sarcastically.

"So tell me Colossus," Tabby grinned with a cheeky wink, "Do you live up to your name?"

"Tabitha!" Xavier said firmly, glancing over to Storm with a frown, "This is exactly why we can't have guests over."

"Is everyone done? I feel like it's time for dessert now, can we move onto dessert?" Kitty said quickly, standing up without waiting for a response from Jubilee, "I'll get the dessert, I know where the kitchen is. Pete, you have... hands. Why don't you help me?"

"Oh," Piotr glanced up at Kitty and nodded, "Yes, I can help-"

"No! You're our guests!" Jean held up a hand and shook her head with a smile, "Please, sit and-"

"No no, Jean." Kitty said with a strained smile as she pulled Piotr to his feet and around the table, "We insist."

Kitty led Piotr out of the dining room before anyone else could protest, and they hurried down to the kitchen, where Kitty she let out a deep breath and glanced past him down the hall to make sure they hadn't been followed,

"How are you holding up?" He asked with a sympathetic smile.

"At this point, I kind of wish they'd have just focused on me. At least it's predictable. Like Kurt, with his very obvious animosity. Seriously, did you see the way he was glaring at me?" She rolled her eyes and ran a hand over her face, "But everyone else... I don't remember them all being so..."

"Enthusiastic?" He slipped an arm around her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Effing weird." She muttered, her voice muffled by his chest, "Just so very weird."

He chuckled and looked down at her, "And you think you are the normal one?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Ha ha."

"It is really not that bad." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "We've been through worse."

"Yeah, I know." She grinned impishly, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Besides, once dinner is over, maybe I can give you a tour. I bet they have my old room set up..." She trailed off with an eyebrow wag.

"Well that sounds much more enjoyable." Piotr murmured with a smirk, leaning back down to plant a kiss on her lips.

"Definitely something to look forward to."

"We should not be too long-" Piotr said, being cut off when Kitty pulled him back in for another kiss.

"You're right." She breathed, stepping back from him and running her tongue along her lower lip, "We're here for dessert."

"The pies. You should clarify which dessert you are talking about." Piotr grinned.

Kitty laughed and turned to cross over to the refrigerator, "Uh huh, they might have some ice cream sandwiches in the freezer..." She joked, pulling the door open and retrieving the two pies. When she turned back around, she was shocked to see Kurt coming to a stop in the doorway,

"If you're getting dessert ready, you could have at least helped to clear the table first." He said, setting the emptied trays down on the end of the counter with an irritated glare, "Some how, I end up volunteered to help."

"Oh." Kitty blinked, setting the two pies down on the counter, "Well, I can go back and-"

"Don't bother. Nobody's eating anyway, they're all too busy fawning all over your new friends." He glanced at Piotr quickly, "Or should I say boyfriends?"

"Um..." Kitty knit her brow and blinked at him, "What?"

"Alright, not... boyfriends." Kurt backtracked, awkwardly clearing his throat, "Not all of them. But definitely this guy." He jerked his thumb towards Piotr, "You two are obviously in love."

Kitty's eyes grew wide and she shook her head, "What?! No... you've-"

"I'm not an idiot, Kitty. I saw the little looks you were giving one another since you got here, the fleeting touches beneath the table... You were practically making babies all over that meal with your sultry little eyes."

"Woah!" Kitty held up a hand, "Kurt, you're completely wrong-"

"And then I walk into the kitchen and find this..." He flicked his hand at the distance between Kitty and Piotr with a scoff, "The sexual tension in here is so thick, you could cut it with a butter knife."

Kitty blinked at Kurt with her mouth hanging open slightly. "I... have no idea what you're talking about. You've invented this whole... crazy scenario..."

Kurt scoffed, "I don't buy that for a second. I've seen this look in your eye before Kitty. I might not have seen it first hand, but I've observed it before. You got the same look on your eye whenever you were with stupid Lance, or whenever someone showed you that picture of Ryan Gosling holding a puppy. And you get it now, every single time you look at him."

"Kurt, it's not like that. Piotr and I are just friends." Kitty insisted.

He narrowed his eyes, "You know at least Rogue isn't living with Gambit... You just bounce from boyfriend to boyfriend, house to house... drifting around wherever the wind takes you."

"Now hang on a minute." Piotr interrupted with a frown, "It is not like that."

"Pete." Kitty hissed through clenched teeth.

"No, Katya, I won't stand here and let him imply that you are some kind of... woman of the night." Piotr kept his steely frown fixed on Kurt, "Just because we are living together does not mean that anything inappropriate is going on. We're dating. Everything about our relationship is completely respectful. I care about her and I wouldn't-"

"Ha!" Kurt jabbed a finger at Piotr, turning to Kitty with a smug grin, "I knew I could get him to crack! He's the weak link!"

"Piotr, you fool!" Kitty threw a hand at the grinning blue mutant with a frown, "This is Kurt, he's not gunna call me a slut. He was trying to get you to crack!"

"I can't believe that worked." He chuckled and shook his head, jerking his thumb towards Piotr, "This guy's a total amateur. You're really into this? I mean, that's your thing?"

Kitty crossed her arms and let out a breath, "Is this some kind of payback, for not kissing you back? Because I totally had every right to let you phase through me for that, just because I'm nice to you doesn't mean-"

"Please Kathrine," Kurt snorted as he crossed the kitchen to pull out some dessert plates from the cupboard, "I haven't just been pining over you or something. It's fine, you've moved on, I get it. I mean, not that you were ever... on me... not ON me. You know. You know what I mean." He cleared his throat and shrugged, "No, it's not payback."

Kitty eyed him for a moment before knitting her brow, "You're not gunna tell anyone, are you? I mean... this is new. We didn't want anyone to know."

"I can tell." Kurt raised his eyebrows, "Does that mean you haven't even told Rogue?"

Kitty pursed her lips and shook her head.

Kurt let out a low whistle, "Wow, that makes me feel pretty special."

Kitty rolled her eyes, "Kurt-"

"Oh relax, I'm not gunna tell anyone." He turned to her and offered her a small, sad smile, "You look really happy. It's nice to see you happy again."

She pressed her lips into a smile and gave him a nod, "I am, I think."

Kurt turned to Piotr and his face morphed into a frown, "And you. If you break her heart, I swear... I'll..." He pressed his lips together as he contemplated what he possibly might be able to do to the man known as Colossus, "I'll teleport you back to Russia! Or... to the rainforest or something, I don't know yet. But it won't be pleasant. And you definitely won't like it."

The corner of Piotr's mouth tugged up at Kurt's pathetic attempt at a threat and he nodded, "You have my word."

"Wait, shouldn't you be having this conversation with Remy? Rogue is kind of your sister." Kitty asked, crossing her arms with an eyebrow raised as she waited for an answer.

"Are you kidding me?! Rogue would kill me. Literally." Kurt snorted, tucking the stack of dessert plates under his arm like a football, "Anyway, you should hurry back, I don't know how long those two can handle everyone on their own in there. When I left, Scott was giving them pointers on their fighting tactics in battle."

"We aren't even Acolytes anymore." Piotr said with a frown.

"I know. Rogue keeps saying that too, but Scott just keeps saying you know, for "future reference"." Kurt shrugged before shooting Piotr one last look, "I'm watching you." He said before disappearing in a plume of purple smoke.

Kitty waved a hand in front of her face and choked on a cough as Piotr cut his eyes to and shook his head, "What... just happened?"

"I don't even know." She coughed and frowned back at him, "I can't believe you fell into Kurts trap. He's not an evil mastermind, he's basically Shaggy from Scooby Doo."

"I underestimated him." Piotr sighed and shook his head, "You were right. They are weird."

X-X-X-X

The rest of the evening dragged on a snails pace. Dinner was followed by an equally-as-awkward dessert, which was accompanied by coffee in the "sitting room" and an uncomfortable game of charades. They were out the front door by 9:00, which somehow felt much later than it really was. Rogue stopped Remy at the door to gave him a kiss goodbye, offering him an optimistic smile,

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked, glancing beyond him at the other three who were anxiously waiting on the front step.

"No, it was definitely... not so bad." Remy nodded. "Charades was a bit much."

"Yeah." Rogue grimaced, "Amara gets really competitive."

"We'd better get going." Kitty glanced down at her watch for effect, "Traffic... you know."

"Okay, well, drive safe." Rogue said with one final deep kiss, before pushing him out the door, "Oh and don't take too long leaving. I don't want them thinking you're out there having some... car orgy or something."

She gave them a final wave and shut the front doors behind them.

"Well that's just stupid." Pyro rolled his eyes as he started down the steps, "We live in the same house, if we were going to have an orgy, why would we do it in the car."

"Ew Pyro..." Kitty muttered, falling into step behind him.

"Well it's true!" He protested.

"We know it's true, we just do not need you to continue talking about it." Piotr frowned, waiting for Kitty to dig the car keys out of her purse and hand them over to him.

"That girl... she owes me so big." Remy muttered as he shook his head, "I'm talkin' big time candy sex. Twizzlers, and Skittles and milkshakes... all of it."

"Hey Pyro, they have milkshakes at Sonics don't they?" Kitty asked with a smirk, handing the keys over to Piotr.

"Har har, very funny." Pyro rolled his eyes as he ripped the back door of the SUV open, "I don't work at Sonics."

"It is nothing to be embarrassed about. You have to know how to roller skate there, don't you?" Piotr asked, climbing into the drivers seat with a grin, "That's a real skill."

"No... Tabby said his voice was familiar. The drive thru people don't need to roller skate." Kitty smiled.

"I don't work at Sonics!"

"Rainbow Room then? Bein' a DJ sounds pretty awesome..." Remy commented, sliding into the passenger seat with a half grin. "You get free drinks while you work?"

Pyro frowned and crossed his arms with a pout, "Just shut up and get us outta here, before that claws bloke comes out lookin' to break up an orgy."