"Okay, cheesy gay romance, Star Wars, or muppets?" Rachel swept her arm dramatically over a pile of disks that she'd placed on the coffee table. Her tastes were very particular and Star Wars was only really there because she knew exactly how much Kitty liked those movies. Rachel hoped that would help Kitty feel welcome.

"You had me at all of the above," Kitty flopped onto the couch, kicking her bare feet onto the coffee table. She'd changed out of her professorial suit and skirt into comfortable sweat pants and a t-shirt. With her hair frazzled and loose it was the somehow the sexiest combination that Rachel had ever seen.

"Some things never change." Rachel picked a movie at random and put it in before settling in next to Kitty. She tried to leave enough space for Kitty to not feel crowded. "How was your first day?"

"Fun. I mean that!" Kitty straightened up, a flush forming on her face from Rachel's proximity. "The kids are...really smart, and pay attention to what I was talking about. I get to run a class through the Danger Room tomorrow too, and I can't wait for that. I don't think they know what they're getting into. Before I ran into you I caught up with Hank. I saw Logan, Emma and Bobby too."

Rachel was pretty sure the kids had no idea what awaited them with Kitty in charge of the Danger Room. She'd have to sneak down to watch. "Yeah? How'd that go?"

Leaning against Rachel, Kitty shrugged. "Logan already knew. He and Kurt actually kind of helped with my transition a few years ago. Bobby needed a few minutes to process but I think he'll be fine. He took it a lot better than some other friends I used to have did. Or my mom." She looked up at Rachel. "Did you know he was gay?"

"He came out around the same time I realized I was bi." Rachel put her arm around Kitty. It hurt a little that Logan and Kurt had known and she hadn't found out until she'd learned they'd hired a new teacher. She couldn't be mad at them either, or Kitty. It was Kitty's choice to tell people and Rachel couldn't say what she'd have done in Kitty's place, but she tended to be the angrier and less optimistic of the two of them.

Unable to help herself, she started to play with Kitty's hair, twirling a curl around her finger. "What about Frost? You two hated each other more than me and her hate each other and that's saying something."

"After a scathing comment about my attire she made me promise to go shopping with her." Kitty mimicked Emma's voice. "We simply cannot have you walking around in that skirt with that top, darling. Saturday. Shopping. My treat. No buts."

Rachel laughed. "Kate, you were never good at dressing yourself."

"Says Mrs. Mullet," she smacked the back of her hand into Rachel's stomach. "Ass."

"You love it and you know it." Rachel pulled Kitty close, snuggling in against her as the movie started. She'd seen it a few times already and she knew Kitty had seen it at least as often, so she focused instead on her friend. Kitty's hair was like tactile ambrosia, Rachel decided. "And we don't talk about the mullet. The mullet was a mistake."

"I really like what you've got going on right now. So much better than the mullet."

Is this okay?

Startled at the sudden mental voice, Kitty glanced back up at Rachel and responded in kind, The movie? Or the telepathy?

Both, really.

She smiled, then leaned up and kissed Rachel's cheek. You're always welcome in my head, Ray. Just remember to knock before diving in too deep. I might need to tidy up.

Pressing her cheek into the top of Kitty's head, Rachel sighed. It was always so easy with you. I missed this. Maybe not friends constantly querying about when they were going to hook up because of how close they were. Rachel definitely didn't miss that. There was probably already an office pool on it.

I missed this too. Kitty's biggest regret about her old life had been not contacting Rachel, but she'd been paralyzed with uncertainty and fear. There were certain people that she had been terrified of losing and Rachel had been at the top of that list. Kitty was vaguely aware she could have lost Rachel anyway. She hadn't talked to her in so long that she wouldn't have blamed Rachel for thinking she'd been forgotten. But she was here now and the people that mattered most to her had accepted her. It eased the sting of her last conversation with her mother.

We should make this a regular thing. Rachel felt warm, but it wasn't a bad kind of warmth.

If Rachel kept doing that thing to Kitty's hair, Kitty was going to melt. Kitty cuddled into her arms as another thought crept into her mind. "Ray? Your future me, the one you grew up with. Were they like me?"

"Yeah. Her name was Kate, too." Rachel leaned her cheek on the top of Kitty's head. "And she was trans, like you."

"'Okay. Why didn't you tell me?" Rachel had only ever said she'd known her in the future. She had been so frustratingly vague on the details that it had kind of made Kitty more confused for a time.

Rachel shifted, looking down at Kitty. Curious brown eyes looked up at her, and Rachel stroked her cheek. "I didn't know how you'd react, or if it was even the same for you. There are so many alternate timelines, maybe this one you were actually supposed to be a man. The Professor thought that we shouldn't push you in any one direction and let you figure it out for yourself. But I did drop a few hints here and there. Just in case."

"Just in case." Kitty snorted. Of course the Professor had thought that. He'd probably thought it would be better for Kitty to figure it out on her own. The jury of her opinion was still deliberating on that. Kitty sat up, pushing her hair away from her face. "Just in case stuck with me for a year until I understood why I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kitty flashed Rachel a brilliant smile. "I think it all worked out in the end."

"Okay, but you need to know. She's not 'my' Kate. You are. You're my best friend, my.." Rachel's voice broke. "My anchor in this timeline, to this world." And Kitty had left, she'd been gone and been through so much. She hadn't let Rachel be there to help her through it, to offer her support. Rachel had felt so lost and alone. Five years was a long time to feel lost. Although she had tried dating around and building friendships, it had usually ended in disaster. Rachel didn't exactly have much in the way of interpersonal skills.

Loneliness crept along the link, and Kitty tried to be reassuring. "I'm here now, and we can lean on each other, okay?"

It meant a lot to her that Rachel felt that way. She ran her fingers through the soft fuzz on the side of Rachel's head before she wiped at the tears on Rachel's face. Rachel could still be vulnerable around her and she was glad for that, and that she could feel vulnerable around Ray in return. They'd always clicked together like two pieces of the same puzzle, and the ease with which they'd picked up where they'd left off was proof of that. Slightly terrifying proof but Kitty wanted to make it up to her. On impulse and with more bravery than she'd realized she had, she blurted, "Saturday night, do you want to get dinner together?"

"I…" Rachel stared at her. Was this reality? "Like a date?"

"Yep."

"You're just...asking like that?" This hadn't been something that Rachel had expected and she wasn't prepared for it, but she did have a clever comment in response. "Who are you and what happened to that awkward Pryde I used to know?"

"Remind me to tell you about my ex-boyfriend sometime. He did wonders for my self esteem." Even though the answer was clear on Rachel's face and in her thoughts, Kitty still wanted to hear it in Rachel's voice. "So is that a yes? I mean it only took me five years to work up the courage to ask. No pressure or anything."

"It's a date!" Rachel hugged her, laughing.

Kitty squeezed Rachel tightly. She was home again, and she had her best friend back. And maybe something more could come out of it. "Lets watch Star Wars next."

"For you, I'll put up with it," Rachel teased. The movies were fine, but she liked to give Kitty a hard time.

"I meant," Kitty said, jumping to her feet. "All of them"

"There aren't enough hours left before classes tomorrow for more than one! If you want to sleep, anyway." It was a half-hearted protest. Rachel knew this was a fight she'd probably lose. If she even wanted to win it at all.

"I know." Kitty started sorting the movies into her preferred order and looked up at Ray with mischievous eyes. "We'll just have to do one a night. Easy."

Rachel leaned forward. "That's entrapment."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, but I'm going to need a drink."

"Make me something too, will you?" Kitty danced to the tv, popped out the last movie they'd watched and put in the new one. "Scotch, if you have it."

Rachel turned around and stared at her. "Scotch? Really?" Even whiskey made more sense on account of Logan. Or beer.

"Well you could give me an Orgasm instead, but I like scotch now, okay? Blame that ex-boyfriend."

Too much of a redhead to be able to stop the blush that flooded over her face, Rachel knelt down to open the cabinet. She chose to ignore Kitty's joke. "Your ex sounds like a bad influence. Not that I'm really going to complain."

Sitting back down and leaning her head over the back of the couch, Kitty watched Rachel. This was too much fun and she was probably enjoying it more than she should. "Jealous? What about you?"

Returning with two glasses and a bottle, Rachel pointed at her. "You leave my love life out of this."

"You're avoiding the question."

"So are you." Rachel's love life was generally a disaster of biblical proportions.

Kitty took the proffered glass. "Truce?"

Clinking her glass against Kitty's, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Truce. So which one are we watching first?"

"A New Hope." Kitty wriggled into a more comfortable position. "We have to get to the reveal about Anakin and Vader before flashing back to his downfall. If you're lucky I won't make you go through the cartoons."

This had always been Kitty's thing, and Rachel enjoyed it via a kind of contact high. It made Kitty happy, and Rachel was happy to see it was still a positive escape for her. She'd even put up with the cartoons for Kitty too.

Kitty made herself at home against Rachel's side, and Rachel relaxed. As the Tantive IV was boarded, Rachel was thinking towards other things.

Stay here, tonight? After the movie.

A smile crossed Kitty's lips. Okay. I always did want to sneak into your room for night time snuggling.

Is that what you called it? Unless my memory is bad I don't think that was the only thing on your mind.

Shut up. I can't believe you remember that.

Night time snuggling can be yours, Miss Pryde, Rachel's mental laugh echoed in Kitty's mind.