Dance on, Kietro, Dance on!
By: XMENobsession
AN: IMPORTANT!!!!!! This may sound strange, but I have decided to skip Halloween. I feel that it is for the good of the story. I know that the party was supposed to be on October 14th, but if I kept going like that than I would eventually reach Halloween and there really is no point in writing a Halloween chapter now that it has passed. Maybe next year. So this chapter is about Thanksgiving. YaY! Happy Turkeyday! I know that by the time I get this chapter posted it will be after Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving rox and I really wanted to write about it. So enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!!! Stop making me remind myself that I do not own the X-Men or anything related to Marvel! It makes me sad.
Chapter 14
"Maybe we'll invite them over for tea and cookies"
Man, Lance was mad! Anyone could see that. And he also looked sort of...sad. Why was he sad? Pietro watched his friend standing on the dance floor while he hid in a dark corner with Kitty. He had run as fast as he could when he heard Lance yelling. The only problem was that he had run in the wrong direction. Now they were trapped. No matter which way they went Lance would be able to see them, and Pietro did not want that.
'But maybe if we stayed in the shadows we could make a break for the front doors,' He thought to himself. He looked at their escape route and saw Kurt standing near Lance. 'What? What's the elf doing here?!' That wasn't a very hard question to answer. He was probably there to take Kitty home. Pietro couldn't let that happen; not after that kiss on the dance floor.
He turned to Kitty and said, "We have to get out of here."
She looked like she was only half-listening but managed to say, "I agree."
"But Lance is blocking our way out. What do we do?"
He wasn't really expecting an answer, but she gave him one by grabbing his hand and pulling him. For a moment it looked like she was going to crash him into the wall, but just as he expected to feel brick against forehead, he felt nothing. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself outside.
"Wha...what just happened?"
"You just phased through a solid wall," Kitty said. Then she shivered. The cold November wind blew fiercely against her bare arms. Pietro pulled her close and they began to kiss some more.
Everything was perfect. But of course that could never last. After a few minutes Kitty's eyes shot open. "Pietro!" she yelled as she pulled out of his grasp.
"What is it?" he asked, trying to think of what he had done wrong.
She looked around. "Do you know where we are?"
Pietro smiled. "Yes, I do. The question is, do you know where we are?" She looked like she had just woken up from a dream. Pietro had a guess as to what had happened, but he couldn't explain how.
Kitty looked over the landscape. To their left was the ware-house wall and to their right was a long grassy slope that led down into what Kitty recognized as... "Bayville Park!"
"That's right."
"So, that means that that story you told me about the spiders and the roach killers, they were about this ware-house?"
Pietro nodded.
"The ware-house where Lance's party is?"
He nodded again.
"Wow! I never would have guessed." She kept looking around with a smile on her face. Watching her, Pietro smiled too. He wished they could stay here forever, but...
"Pietro, I have to go."
"What?! Why?"
Her smile faded. "I can hear Jean yelling at me in my head."
"You're just paranoid about getting in trouble for sneaking out."
"I already am in trouble."
'Pietro Maximoff! I don't know what you think you're doing with Kitty, but she is coming home right now, do you hear me?!'
He heard Jean's telepathic screams very clearly and was certain that Kitty was hearing them even louder. He sighed and turned toward her. "I don't want to sound like I'm giving in to some preppy red-head, but this voice thing could get very annoying very quickly."
Kitty gave him an understanding nod. She knew that he would normally challenge Jean, but, for her, he held back. How could anyone not love him? She hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "Someday they'll understand. Just give them a little more time." He kissed her softly and then let her go. Kurt had showed up, apparently Jean told him where Kitty was. Kitty walked over to him and he teleported them both home, leaving Pietro alone with the smell of brimstone.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"This is unbelievable!" Jean yelled at Kitty back at the mansion. "I walk into to your room to get my book back from you and find your bed empty! What am I supposed to think? For all I know you could be lying in a ditch somewhere!"
"Ditch? Where is there a ditch around here?"
Jean gave her a stern look. "This is not the time, Kitty. And then, when I do a mind-scan of the area I find you where? At Lance Alvers' party, making out with Magneto's son!!!"
"That is enough, Jean," Professor Xavier said. "Now it is time to hear Kitty's side of the story."
Jean had been yelling ever since Kitty got home and it really wasn't helping her hangover. Jean's mind-blast-thingy had temporarily brought drunken Kitty back to normal, but now the rest of her body was catching up, which led to one helluva headache. She squirmed in her seat as she answered, "Well, there really isn't much left to explain. I'm sorry for sneaking out and disobeying you, Professor, but I'm not sorry for being with Pietro. He's a good guy once you get past the whole Brotherhood of Evil thing."
Xavier nodded. "Over the past few days I have given much thought to your current situation, Kitty, and I think that I have come to a conclusion."
"What is it?" Kitty was almost too afraid to ask. She knew that if it were Scott or Jean talking right now they'd tell her that she could never see Pietro again and they'd probably lock her in her room for the next two months. But the Professor didn't seem as angry as them. Maybe there was hope?...
"I believe that you have been taught well. You know the difference between right and wrong, and you know when that thin line has been crossed. I think that you can decide for yourself whether to keep seeing Pietro or not."
Kitty's face lit up and she hugged the professor so tightly that she almost phased through him. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Jean stared at them with an outraged face. "Professor, you can't be serious!"
"Why would I lie about this? Kitty is old enough to make decisions like this for herself. And I don't want you or anyone else to stand in their way, do you hear me? Their personal life is none of our business."
"But the Brotherhood is our enemy! No matter what Kitty does, she can't change that."
"That's true, but you know what they say, 'Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.'"
"So what are we supposed to do? Maybe we'll invite them over for tea and cookies, and then we'll all be the best of friends," Jean said in a mocking voice.
The professor looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he said, "That's not a bad idea, Jean. In fact, I think that that is exactly what we're going to do."
"What?" Jean and Kitty said at the same time, both in different tones.
"Kitty, tell Pietro that the Brotherhood is invited to Thanksgiving dinner here at the Institute. I realize that you all probably won't become the 'best of friends', but I do think that you could learn a lot from each other."
Jean just stood there, speechless, while Kitty gave the professor another hug. "Oh, thank you so much! This is going to be so great! I promise you won't regret it! I'm going to go call Pietro right now and tell him!" Then she kissed him on the cheek and ran out of the room.
It was silent for a while until Jean managed to stammer, "I...I...I don't believe this. Thanksgiving with the Brotherhood of Evil."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
On Thanksgiving Day Kurt, Rogue, and Bobby sat in the kitchen, peeling potatoes for dinner and talking about the one thing that everyone at the Xavier Institute couldn't stop talking about.
"Ah still can't seem to wrap mah mind around the fact that the professor invited those juvies to eat with us," Rogue said.
"Me neither," Kurt added. "But vhat can ve do?"
"A lot more than you think," Bobby said with a mischievous look on his face.
"What did you do?" Rogue asked.
"Nothing yet. I figure the Brotherhood will drag themselves down, but if they don't..." he pulled a small sphere from his pocket.
"Vhat is that?"
"I made it while avoiding doing homework. You just punch in the amount of time here." He pointed to a set of numbered buttons on the sphere. "And then, once time runs out..."
"Bobby!"
All three mutants jumped and Bobby accidentally threw the sphere in the air. Luckily, Kurt caught it and hid it underneath the potatoes.
Storm walked into the kitchen. "Bobby, go clean up your ice! People are sliding all over the living room floor!"
"Sorry Ms. Munroe," Bobby said and left the room, followed by the weather-witch.
Kurt pulled the sphere out of the potato basket. "Vhat do you think happens once time runs out?"
"Nothing good," Rogue said. "Ah'm all for gettin' the Brotherhood in trouble, but ya do realize that we live in a house with two telepaths? This is somehow going to be traced back to us, so I don't want anything to do with it, ya hear?" With that she turned back to her potato and continued to peel.
Kurt looked back at the spherical device. He knew that the smart thing would be to join Rogue and just put it away before any damage was done, but he wasn't feeling very smart at the moment. So instead he put it into his pocket and headed for the dining room.
In there, Scott and Jean were talking.
"I guess I kind of overreacted," Jean said while telekinetically laying down the orange and brown table cloth.
"Happens to the best of us," Scott replied as he smoothed out the wrinkles.
"I know. And it's not like I didn't have a very legitimate reason, but still, the professor didn't seem too happy with me. I have no idea why though. He doesn't like the Brotherhood any more than us."
"That's true," Scott said and handed Jean half of the stack of plates. "But he does like the idea of mutant peace. And this is the time of year when people tend to go out of their way to make everyone get along."
She sighed. "You're right. I guess we just have to put our differences aside tonight and be polite, hospitable hosts."
"And then tomorrow we can go back to being mortal enemies."
Jean let out a soft smile and Kurt entered. "How's it going?" he asked.
"Almost done," Jean said. She laid out all of the silverware and folded the napkins into small turkeys without lifting a finger.
"Well," Scott said. "I guess you don't need my help in here. Kurt, you wanna come with me to go help Mr. McCoy with the turkey?"
"Sure," he answered as he fingered the sphere in his pocket. Should he? He knew the answer already. He guessed that the real question was 'Would he?'
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Later that day...
"Remind me why we agreed to this," Todd said as he and the rest of the Brotherhood stood on the X-Mansion's front stoop.
"Free food," Freddy answered.
"Oh, right." Then there was an awkward silence while they all just stood there. "Uh, Lance, are you going to ring the doorbell anytime soon?"
"I'm prepping, okay? Tonight isn't going to be much fun for anyone and I just want to make sure that we're ready." He kept staring at the door. After a minute he took a deep breath and began to knock. Just then, it swung open and Lance fell into the foyer.
"Lance! Are you okay?" Kitty reached down and helped him up.
Todd handed her the fruit cake they brought and said quietly, "You have a lovely home." Then he bowed and slowly backed away.
Kitty raised one eyebrow. "Okay... You know, you don't have to be so formal. We see each other every day."
"I guess that this is just an awkward situation," Lance said.
"I wish it wasn't. The professor seems to think that we can all get along, and I agree. So please," she looked at them all with wide blue eyes. "Don't screw this up."
Storm came into the room and smiled at the guests. "Welcome! Dinner is almost ready, so if you'll follow me, we can all wait in the living room." She walked away and Lance, Fred, and Todd proceeded to follow.
Pietro and Kitty looked at each other. "You're awfully quiet," she said.
He shrugged. "I guess I'm just saving all my sarcastic comments for dinner. And besides, I don't really like Thanksgiving."
"Why?"
He just shrugged.
"Well, just be good Pietro."
"I'm not sure if it's physically possible for me to be good."
"Than at least try... for me?"
"All right, I'll try. But don't get upset if I fail." He gave her a charming smirk and left.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The living room was completely silent until Henry McCoy came in and announced that dinner was done. Then the X-Men and Brotherhood entered the dining room and sat down. Professor X gazed across the table and said, "We're missing someone." Everyone looked around. Who was missing? Then the doorbell rang. The professor turned to Kitty who was sitting closest to the door. "Could you get that please?"
She stood up and walked into the foyer. The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She opened the door and standing before her was none other than the master of magnetism himself.
AN: Dun, dun, dun!!!!!! Should I stop here? How much would you hate me? But this is a Thanksgiving chapter and I really don't feel like dragging it out and making it into two chapters so I'm going to be a nice person and continue. YaY! Don't you all love me now?
Kitty just stared for a while with her mouth hanging open.
"Well," Magneto said, getting a little impatient. "Are you going to let me in?"
She wasn't sure what to do. Was this an ambush? No, if it was than he would have just smashed down the wall instead of ringing the doorbell. Was he the missing guest? That seemed like the only logical answer. She stepped aside and he walked into the mansion. He wasn't wearing his normal attire. Instead he had on what seemed to be a regular suit. She wasn't aware that he owned anything except for purple tights and red capes.
They entered the dining room together and Kitty saw every face in the room except for the Professor's drop from surprise. The professor was also the only one who said anything. "Hello, Eric. It's good to see you again."
"And you too, Charles," Magneto said as he sat down at the head of the table, opposite to the professor. "It's been far too long since we've been able to enjoy each other's company. How have things been here at the Institute?"
"Chaotic. Which is normal for us. What about you? Last I heard you were in England. How was that?"
"I always enjoy London's charm at first, but after a while I find I prefer American traditions; such as this holiday."
"Well, I'm glad you could make it back in time."
"As am I, Charles. As am I." Kitty saw him quickly glance at Pietro who wasn't paying any attention to him. She had forgotten that Magneto was his father. She wondered when the last time was that they had seen each other, and how awkward this must be for both of them.
The professor and Magneto continued to talk as if they were best friends instead of mortal enemies. As Kitty watched them, she began to see what the professor was doing. He was showing them that peace was possible. They all knew the things that Magneto had done and the many battles that have raged between him and the professor. They knew how different the two men were and in how many different ways. Yet, at the end of the day, they both still managed to hold great respect for one another, and from that respect has come a very odd, but very strong friendship. Kitty smiled as she realized this, but that smile quickly faded when she saw that no one else was getting the message. So she decided to try and be another example.
She turned to Pietro who had managed to get past Scott and secure a seat next to her and said, "How did you do on that biology exam? I think I did pretty well, but I couldn't remember what photosynthesis was." It was a very simple conversation starter that led to a very simple conversation, but that's all that was really needed. No, the other X-Men didn't turn toward the Brotherhood and began talking about their hopes and dreams and what makes them tick, but Rogue asked Freddy what his favorite Thanksgiving food was and Todd and Jubilee had a somewhat interesting talk about the weather. Most of the people at the table remained silent, but they were watching the others and realizing what was going on. It wasn't going to make them all friends like the professor and Magneto, and it certainly wasn't going to end any war, but it was a start.
Kurt saw this and found that he liked it. He smiled at the idea of peace. He was actually having a good time and hoped that nothing would ruin it.
Henry brought in the turkey and set it on the table. He held out the carving knife and asked, "Okay, who would like the honors of cutting this fine bird?" Magneto stared at it with a peculiar expression on.
"Hold on," he said. "Something's not right here." He stood up and walked closer to the turkey. Everyone else watched him intently. "Does anyone else hear a very faint beeping noise?"
Kurt gasped as he remembered what he had done. He was about to tell everyone, but before he could even open his mouth...
BOOM!
...the turkey exploded.
Everyone was speechless. Kitty turned to Pietro who was sitting directly behind the turkey. His face was covered in food. She didn't know what to expect him to do. He could start yelling or he could simply run off. Instead, though, he slowly wiped some of the food off his face with a napkin, smiled at Kitty, and said, "This is why I don't like Thanksgiving."
AN: Any story with an exploding turkey has to be good. Happy Thanksgiving (even though it's passed)! Now we can get back to the dancing... at least until Christmas!!!