Kaine Parker

So, I was going to spend time with Kitty. It wasn't a big deal. I shouldn't be caring this much. So why did I really care? I had no idea. I shouldn't be feeling so apprehensive about it. I shouldn't be standing in front of my wardrobe cabinet wondering what to wear. I shouldn't be a little annoyed that I didn't have much in the way of variation of clothing.

Yet all of that was happening.

I stared at the clothes for a while. I decided to go with the all black attire I wore when I ate breakfast with the X-Men and their allies. For some reason, I didn't feel so confident about what I chose, but I didn't have any other option.

"She'll just have to understand," I grumbled to myself.

After getting dressed, I headed over to the bar I worked at. I sat at the bar, where Sharon was situated. She looked me up and down.

"Now this can't be same Kaine that works here," she commented. Behind my sunglasses, I rolled my eyes. "Now don't you roll our eyes at me."

"I didn't," I lied.

She scoffed at me. "Don't lie to me either. Anyway, you can't blame me for being surprised. You pretty much put on the same outfit every day. You dress in blue or black jeans, a white or black t-shirt, and a black jacket of some kind. Honestly, you're one ski mask away from looking like you rob convenience stores and gas stations." I gave the older woman a look. "Am I wrong?"

I frowned. I wanted to deny it. I couldn't. "…You're not."

She chuckled. "I'm usually not. So, what's the special occasion?"

"I'm just meeting an acquaintance. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sharon scoffed. "They must be quite the acquaintance for you to actually put some effort into your outfit. So, while you're waiting, you want anything to wet your whistle."

"I'll just take water for now."

Sharon shook her head as she grabbed a mug and turned away. "Wow, Kaine," she deadpanned. "Try not to go too hard on the liquor before they come."

I narrowed my eyes as she filled the mug with water. "Why do I tolerate you?"

"Because of my natural charm and my ability to not take your brooding personality too seriously, that's why." She turned and set the mug down in front of me. "Try not to overindulge."

I spent the time nursing the mug of water and watching the door for Kitty to show up. I didn't have to wait for too long. Kitty arrived. She took a moment to look around the place before she spotted me. I took in her clothes. She wore a green shirt underneath a brown parka lined with white fur that I assumed was fake. She had on black pants and a pair of brown Ugg boots. I almost smiled. She looked good. She smiled as she walked up to me.

"Hey," she greeted as she took a seat next to me. "I see you're wearing your Matrix outfit."

I scoffed. "It's… it's the best outfit I have," I admitted.

"Well, it looks good on you."

I actually smiled at that. "Thanks. …You look good as well."

"Thank you. I don't wear this outfit often. It's actually been some years since I wore it."

"How come?"

She looked away. "It's… It's a long story."

I had a feeling that it was a very touchy subject for her. "Okay." I quickly changed the subject. "…I'm going to be honest with you. I… didn't have much in the way of plans."

She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "So we're hanging out with nothing planned, with the two us just winging it and seeing what the night has in store for us? Am I understanding that right?"

"I… uh…" I paused for a moment as I thought about it. "…Yeah."

"Sounds like a date to me," Sharon as she walked up to the counter. I turned my head towards her and glared. I felt my face become a bit warm. She ignored me and looked at Kitty. "Hi, I'm Sharon. I'm this brooder's co-worker. You must be the acquaintance."

Kitty chuckled. "I suppose I am."

"Well, can I interest you in a drink?"

"…Ummmm…"

"I can cover you, if that's the issue," I said.

"…It has been a while since I had a Green Tea Shot," Kitty said slowly.

I looked towards Sharon. "Two Green Tea Shots, please, and put it on my tab."

After we had our shots, we took a walk through New York. It was a rather quiet night. I didn't like that. Quiet nights were dangerous. Quiet nights made some people drop their guard and be lulled into a false sense of security. It made other people paranoid to the point where they react to every little thing, including things that weren't even there to begin with. I knew this because, during my days with the cartel, I often took advantage of the silence to kill those that the cartel wanted out of the picture. Nowadays, the tables were turned. Maybe it was karma. Maybe it was a divine punishment of some kind. But it wasn't lost on me that I was the one with a huge target on my back drawn by people who want me dead.

Or worse.

"I'm not 21 yet," Kitty said.

I looked at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm not 21 yet. As a matter of fact, I'm turning 20 this year. That's why I was reluctant about getting a drink."

"…Oh." It slowly sunk in. "I'm sorry."

She looked up at me. "For what?"

"I just assumed that you were older."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm aging horribly?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, I'm not saying that, I'm just…" I trailed off. "You… you have this air of authority about you. I saw how others were following your lead. I figured you were older because of that. Not that much older, but still…"

She chuckled. "Relax, Kaine. I'm just giving you a hard time. But thank you. I've been told that I'm wise beyond my years." She looked forward. "And, to be honest, it's not like I don't indulge in underage drinking. I did quite a bit of it at an after party not too long ago."

"I see." I looked forward. "…Well, I still feel like I should've read the room better."

"Don't worry about it, Kaine. You're fine."

"…Okay."

"To be honest, the only reason I brought it up is because you seemed rather… tense."

I pressed my lips together for a moment. "I don't like the quiet."

"Let me guess – because it either makes you paranoid or lulls you into a false sense of security?"

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. "…How…?"

"Kaine, I'm literally a ninja. All throughout this walk, I've been keeping tabs on everyone around us since we started it." She looked at me and smiled. "…I understand."

"Oh…" I frowned. "…I'm not… used to this – hanging out, that is. I know it was my idea. I guess I wanted to do something different."

"You didn't hang out with people back in El Paso or Mexico?"

I shook my head. "I tried once," I replied. "…What they did for fun wasn't fun to me. And since I didn't really associate with anyone outside of the cartel, I would just keep to myself until I was called for 'business'."

"So you never just went out clubbing?" Kitty asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"You never went out to see a movie?"

"If I ever wanted to see a movie, I would just watch it at home, online if need be."

"Did you ever even go out and grab ice cream?"

"…I never had ice cream before." The closest thing I ever had to ice cream was Greek yogurt. Even then, while I didn't hate it, I consumed it more for the protein content than anything else. I wasn't really a dessert type person

I heard Kitty's footsteps quicken. I looked at her as she moved in front of me and stopped. I stopped in my own tracks. She looked me straight in the eye, looking as if she just saw me grow a second head. "Are you serious?" she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't see the big deal."

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She then opened her eyes before she grabbed my hand. "Yeah, we're going to change that."

She started to walk and pull me along. I let her. This was obviously a priority for her. Why that was, I didn't know. But I wasn't going to fight against it. I didn't have anything planned and the idea of ice cream wasn't something I was against. So, I quickened my step until I was standing side by side with her. I let her guide me through the city. All the while, she continued to hold my hand. It wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't have been a big deal. But, I couldn't help but think about it. Eventually, I gave her a hand soft squeeze. She looked up at me. I was afraid that I crossed a line, especially when she blushed a bit. She smiled at me before looked forward.

Why did I feel so relieved?

Eventually, we reached our destination. Kitty took me to an ice cream place – Van Leeuwen. They had a variety of flavors, but Kitty insisted that I went with French Vanilla.

"French Vanilla is a safe starting point," she said.

After we got our ice cream, we went to Central Park and found a bench for ourselves to sit on in front of The Lake. As Kitty stared at me in anticipation from the corner of my eye, I dipped my spoon into my ice cream and scooped up a bit of it. I looked at it for a bit before I put the spoon into my mouth. I pulled the spoon out, leaving the ice cream behind on my tongue. I stared ahead as I took in the taste. It was… interesting to me. I've heard people use the word vanilla to mean plain or ordinary. But this flavor… was anything but. I couldn't quite describe it. All I knew was…

"I like it," I said. I looked over at Kitty, who was smiling from ear to ear. For some reason, I felt glad for that.

"Awesome!" she said. She dug her spoon in her ice cream. "Glad you like it."

I smiled back her. We then ate our ice cream in silence for a bit.

"Hey Kaine," Kitty said.

"Yes Kitty?" I replied.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

I took a moment to consider the question. "…Sure."

"Have you ever been in a relationship before? I mean, in a romantic relationship?"

I looked at her and shook my head. "No, I haven't." I paused for a moment. "As I told you before, I usually kept to myself, and I never did much for leisure. Ever since I escaped from the facility, I was mostly in survivor mode. I was never really thinking about that kind of thing. All I really cared about was trying to make it to tomorrow."

"So, I'm guessing you're not one for romance."

"I… I wouldn't say that. I'm not opposed it. I just never been in a place to consider it." I then grimaced. "Plus most of the women I came across scare me."

Kitty scoffed. "What's so scary about them?"

"They were hitmen and assassins like I was. And they were a lot more bloodthirsty. For me, it was just business. For them, it was something they enjoyed."

Kitty nodded. "I see."

I nodded towards her. "What about you? Have you been in one?"

She frowned. "A while back, I was. He was a man from Russia named Piotr."

I could tell she didn't want to continue on with the subject. But I was too curious for my own good. "What happened between you two?"

She shook her head. "Post-Blip shit happened. During the Blip years, Logan… one of the X-Men at the time… cut a deal with General Ross so the X-Men could be a government-sanctioned team. A lot of us were for it. But, a lot of us didn't like it one bit. Piotr was in the former camp, and I was in the latter. After Logan and Scott got into a huge argument, Scott convinced us to give it a go. And we did. It was going good until we were on our way back from a mission and passed by The Samoan Islands while they were about to be attacked by a sea monster. After we got denied clearance from our handlers, a group of us went in and intervened anyway. Ross wasn't happy and threatened us with imprisonment in The Raft if we defied orders again. Needless to say, we weren't thrilled. So we left. Piotr stayed behind with those who decided to stay, and that group became X-Force. We didn't want to break up. But we knew that we had to. I just knew that I was going to cross paths with X-Force one day, even before we reformed the X-Men. It'll only be a matter of time before we clash, and I don't think I can take being in a relationship with someone across the battle lines, so to speak."

I frowned. Now I really felt bad. "I'm sorry for asking."

Kitty smiled at me. "Don't be. I was the one who asked a personal question first." She… wasn't wrong. But still, I wish I didn't ask.

"…For what it's worth… I think any guy would be lucky to have you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean that, or are you trying to make me feel better?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Both."

She smiled at me before she went back to eating her ice cream. I went back to eating mine. We were quiet for a bit. And then… Kitty leaned against me. I stopped eating and looked at Kitty. She continued to eat her ice cream, not saying a word as she looked ahead. I looked down at my ice cream in thought. I didn't know what to think about what was happening. I didn't know what it meant. But, I guess I didn't mind it. Deciding not to overthink it, I went back to eating my ice cream.

I felt content with the moment. Unfortunately, it would come to a sudden end.

I heard the sound of a phone's ringtone. Kitty sat up straight, pulling away from me. I didn't think about how disappointed I felt as I watched her pull her phone out. She looked at the screen before she looked at me.

"It's Buford," she said before she took the call. She put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She was silent for several moments, but the look of worry on her face said it all. "Okay… Yes, I'll… I'll be there soon." With that said, she hung up the phone before she stood up. "Kaine, I'm sorry, but I got to go."

"Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not." She frowned. "Craig's in a bad shape – like, in very bad shape. Right now, he's in a medical center in Harlem."

I stood up. "Do you need me to come with you?"

She shook her head. "If Craig's condition is as bad as Buford say it is, it's probably best if you're not around me."

I nodded in understanding, ignoring the feeling in my stomach. "Okay."

"…For what it's worth, I was having a good time up until this point. I'll make it up you. I promise." After she said that, she phased into the ground. I stood there, for a moment. I then sighed before I walked away, deciding to just go home.