Tommy and Kitty | Halloween
Oct. 31st, 2018 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainTommy and Kitty catch up at the Halloween Party.
The party was a different vibe this year than last time around, and how was it that Tommy had spent enough time in the place to be able to compare holidays shindigs from one year to the next? The time had slipped away somewhere without him noticing it -- not unusual -- and he still wasn't feeling the burn to bail -- much less usual. Maybe it was because things kept happening. More like Things kept Happening, capital letters required. At least it hadn't really been boring.
He'd spent the bulk of the evening hauling people out onto the dance floor and hovering around the dj mixer, the cheap plastic costume pooling his sweat in weird places. At one point, though, later in the evening, he found himself looking around. Looking around and not spotting the person he was looking for. Until he did, off around the corner and on the patio, curled up and half in shadow.
Tommy zipped over, handing his pop over to Billy on his way past without a word of explanation. Slowing down, then skidding to a stop, he rested his forearms on the back of Kitty's chair and leaned there. "Hey you. Done with parties, or catching a breather?"
She jumped, (because of course she did), then turned and smacked his hand as she looked up at him, quirking a small smile. "You shouldn't zip up on a girl like that."
He shrugged, guilt-free. "Girls need to pay more attention to where I am, then," Tommy replied instead, his grin easy and wide. "Or just 'me' in general. I'll take that too."
"Oh yeah? You don't have enough girls paying attention to you?" Kitty asked, smirking wryly.
"You weren't." Tommy moved quickly -- for other people, anyway -- and dropped down to sit next to her on the bench. "And that's just criminal." A good look at her stopped him from pushing it with the teasing. Kitty had a thinking face on, not the figuring-out-a-puzzle face he knew pretty well, but something else entirely. Ugh. serious things. "Not having fun anymore?" he asked, nodding back towards the music and the laughter he'd left behind to join her.
Kitty sighed and pulled her legs up beneath her, leaning against him a little. "You don't want to hear about my problems. Heck, we've all got so many problems, we should probably have a full on therapy practice move in next door."
He threw his arm around her shoulder, tucking her in underneath it. "We'd scare 'em away in a day and a half. Even Xavier can't keep up with all of our neuroses."
She snorted softly. “You may be right, there.” Then, sighing, she told him, “I want to hate her for leaving, but then I talk to her and it’s like we’re right back where we started.”
It didn't take a whole lot of brain power to figure out who she meant. "Why hate her? It's not like she went that far away," Tommy prodded. "Besides; I thought everyone liked the Brotherhood now."
"I don't know if I'd take it that far. They still hate me, so it's not like there's a big lovefest going on." But then she looked up, frowning. "You don't even know about the fight we had, do you?"
Did he? Tommy wasn't entirely sure. And even if he thought he had the right answer, knowing them it could easily be something else by now. "Oh yeah," he said instead of answering directly, laying it on thick. "I have a little notebook where I write down every fight Yana's picked. I even have a rating system, based on how many people she sends to alternate dimensions during each tantrum."
Kitty eyed him and his sarcasm, not with any hostility, but skepticism. She knew that Tommy paid way more attention to things than he let on, even when it came to Yana. Still, they hadn't exactly been talking lately, so she just explained with a small shrug, "When she left, it was kind of abrupt. We kind of got into it over what had happened with the Brotherhood and then...then she just said she was leaving. I guess I took it pretty hard."
Tommy frowned at her, honestly pretty confused. "That fight's the one that's still got you riled up? Seriously -- that was, like, a hundred years ago. Even for people who aren't me."
She huffed at him. "I'm not riled up. I just... I don't know how to feel. We talked for the first time tonight. You know, since."
"You've been not-talking to her this whole time?" Tommy's eyebrow went up. "Hunh." It wasn't like Tommy didn't hold grudges - he could avoid certain people with the best of them. But it was weird to think about Kitty holding on to things like that. She seemed so much more ... well-adjusted than him. Less inclined to go for payback. On the other hand, he'd barely talked to Kitty since she'd gotten her fancy new job, so that actually tracked.
"And?" he prompted, since she didn't seem like she was going to keep going on her own.
Kitty shrugged, looking down at her hands. "I mean, I guess there was a lot of miscommunication. And hurt feelings on both sides. And all this time I...I kind of thought that she was there for Pyro, you know? But they broke up, and she still wants to stay, so... I guess that's the best place for her."
"Pretty sure he was part of it, at least at first," Tommy mused out loud. "But come on. She hated taking classes, really doesn't like following rules, and likes to blow shit up when she's mad. Is it really any wonder she jumped ship? It was bound to happen eventually. Especially to a group where she can't be given detention."
But she left me, Kitty thought, glancing at her hands before looking up at him. "I guess so. Anyway, you didn't come to listen to me talk about old arguments. How are you doing, anyway? I wish I could have come with everyone to get you out."
That got her a long look. "Not subtle." That was alright, though. He could always circle back. "Weren't you running half the computers and stuff for all the rescues at the time? You had more important shit to do than come after my sorry ass."
Kitty frowned. "But there isn't anything more important than that. I was working with Nolan because I was asked to, but you have to know that I wanted to be there for you."
"I never assume shit like that," Tommy kept his voice light and breezy. Hurts less that way when it doesn't happen.
"Tell you the truth, I didn't count on seeing anyone again. Not once they'd grabbed me. JP got away, that was the main thing," he added, more subdued -- momentarily back in that instant he'd chosen the sacrifice play.
She was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. Then she sat up and turned to face him, before pulling him into a tight, warm hug. "You idiot. We weren't going to let anything happen to you."
Kitty hugs. Hunh. She was warm and fierce (and smelled good) and after a moment's hesitation, he hugged her back. Tommy decided - and not for the first time - that Bobby was an idiot for whatever it was that he'd done to screw that up.
"Is calling me names supposed to be a sign of your love?" He joked, muffled against her hair. "Cause that's an ass-backward way to go about it."
"Too bad, because you're a big dumb jerk," Kitty continued, not bothering to stop hugging him. Why had she gotten so caught up in her work that Tommy could go thinking that he'd never be rescued? And why had she let it go so long since she'd just sat down and hugged him, because it felt really good. And she missed him. And she missed his stupid face. (Even if it was also Billy's face. Gawd, these boys.) "You are a big dumb jerk and you'll accept my love, and I'm gonna put a tracker on you so I never lose you again."
"Yeah. 'cause that worked so well the first time," he snorted, enjoying the contact for another beat (a lifetime) before he pulled away. Surviving had been for the best after all, and for an instant he was glad that he hadn't managed to get the guard to end his sorry existence. He'd have missed out on knowing a lot of really important stuff. Like the way Kitty was looking at him right now -- like he mattered. "And Shen already chewed me out for that whole thing anyway, so you're off the hook."
"This is why Shen is the best," Kitty reminded both of them as she drew back. Because she was. Even when Kitty was busy with her stupid junk, Shen was on top of things. She really needed to buy that girl a gift basket. Or just donate to a charity in her name, which was probably more Shen's speed. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I've been so wrapped up in things that I've let our friendship flunk."
"You've been busy, I get it." He shrugged it off and grinned, as nonchalant as possible. "New job, new life. But hey -- if the guilt means I get to see you at movie nights instead of having to buy my own Hampton beach house, I'll take it."
"Wouldn't really work, since my apartment's in the city and not in the Hamptons, but how about we have movie nights at my place sometimes? More food options, fewer distractions?" Kitty suggested.
"At your place - look at you." Tommy snickered, shaking his head. "And here I am counting down the days to eighteen when I can rent something without going through all that emancipation bullshit with the courts. I'm definitely going about things all wrong."
"You know, you could always stay whenever you wanted to get away," Kitty pointed out. "I'm only there every now and then, when I have to stay in the city too late to feel safe taking an Uber back to the school. I could give you an extra key."
Tommy felt guilty, briefly, then shook it off. "You're too nice," he informed her instead. "Here I am trying to get a rise out of you, teasing you about your prodigy-ness, and you offer me a key to your bachelor pad instead up putting your elbow in my ribs. What did we do to deserve you, Kittycat?"
Kitty huffed softly, glancing down at her hands. "It's not niceness. I mean, I guess it is, but it's, you know, a defense mechanism."
He frowned, wavering and unsure whether to be offended. "You need to defend yourself from me?"
Kitty gave the King of Defense Mechanisms a look. "I need to defend myself from everyone when it comes to shots at my intelligence."
Tommy snorted, relaxing again. "Oh, come on. It's not exactly news that your IQ is like four times mine. I'm clearly taking shots at your superstardom. Someone's gotta keep your ego in check before the paparazzi ruin you."
She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "You know that the only people who know who I am are people in the tech industry. No one else cares."
Shrugging, Tommy tugged experimentally at the ponytail in Kitty's hair. "Its only a matter of time before you're the next Steve Jobs. Unless there already has been a next Steve Jobs, in which case you're the next one of those." Did that parse? Yeah - convoluted, but acceptable. "Anyway, we care."
"There have been a few," Kitty grinned, "including Nolan. But I don't want to be a business person. I just like making things, especially for mutants. So...I'm glad you care. Because, you know. I care about you." And she wasn't really sure whether she meant that in an overall 'mutants' sense, or a 'Tommy' sense, but that seemed to happen a lot.
"That warms my heart, it really does," Tommy fired back, but there was nothing malicious in the grin on his face. "Now what do I have to do to get that smile to stick around? I'm not above dumping you and Yana together in a locked room until either a victor or a truce emerges."
Kitty glanced over at the dance floor, then looked back at him with a hopeful grin.
He followed her glance, half-expecting to see one of her new friends over there beckoning to her, but nope. Tommy nodded at the unspoken suggestion and was on his feet extending his hand to her before she could blink. "You got it, Kittycat. Let's go make 'em jealous."
The party was a different vibe this year than last time around, and how was it that Tommy had spent enough time in the place to be able to compare holidays shindigs from one year to the next? The time had slipped away somewhere without him noticing it -- not unusual -- and he still wasn't feeling the burn to bail -- much less usual. Maybe it was because things kept happening. More like Things kept Happening, capital letters required. At least it hadn't really been boring.
He'd spent the bulk of the evening hauling people out onto the dance floor and hovering around the dj mixer, the cheap plastic costume pooling his sweat in weird places. At one point, though, later in the evening, he found himself looking around. Looking around and not spotting the person he was looking for. Until he did, off around the corner and on the patio, curled up and half in shadow.
Tommy zipped over, handing his pop over to Billy on his way past without a word of explanation. Slowing down, then skidding to a stop, he rested his forearms on the back of Kitty's chair and leaned there. "Hey you. Done with parties, or catching a breather?"
She jumped, (because of course she did), then turned and smacked his hand as she looked up at him, quirking a small smile. "You shouldn't zip up on a girl like that."
He shrugged, guilt-free. "Girls need to pay more attention to where I am, then," Tommy replied instead, his grin easy and wide. "Or just 'me' in general. I'll take that too."
"Oh yeah? You don't have enough girls paying attention to you?" Kitty asked, smirking wryly.
"You weren't." Tommy moved quickly -- for other people, anyway -- and dropped down to sit next to her on the bench. "And that's just criminal." A good look at her stopped him from pushing it with the teasing. Kitty had a thinking face on, not the figuring-out-a-puzzle face he knew pretty well, but something else entirely. Ugh. serious things. "Not having fun anymore?" he asked, nodding back towards the music and the laughter he'd left behind to join her.
Kitty sighed and pulled her legs up beneath her, leaning against him a little. "You don't want to hear about my problems. Heck, we've all got so many problems, we should probably have a full on therapy practice move in next door."
He threw his arm around her shoulder, tucking her in underneath it. "We'd scare 'em away in a day and a half. Even Xavier can't keep up with all of our neuroses."
She snorted softly. “You may be right, there.” Then, sighing, she told him, “I want to hate her for leaving, but then I talk to her and it’s like we’re right back where we started.”
It didn't take a whole lot of brain power to figure out who she meant. "Why hate her? It's not like she went that far away," Tommy prodded. "Besides; I thought everyone liked the Brotherhood now."
"I don't know if I'd take it that far. They still hate me, so it's not like there's a big lovefest going on." But then she looked up, frowning. "You don't even know about the fight we had, do you?"
Did he? Tommy wasn't entirely sure. And even if he thought he had the right answer, knowing them it could easily be something else by now. "Oh yeah," he said instead of answering directly, laying it on thick. "I have a little notebook where I write down every fight Yana's picked. I even have a rating system, based on how many people she sends to alternate dimensions during each tantrum."
Kitty eyed him and his sarcasm, not with any hostility, but skepticism. She knew that Tommy paid way more attention to things than he let on, even when it came to Yana. Still, they hadn't exactly been talking lately, so she just explained with a small shrug, "When she left, it was kind of abrupt. We kind of got into it over what had happened with the Brotherhood and then...then she just said she was leaving. I guess I took it pretty hard."
Tommy frowned at her, honestly pretty confused. "That fight's the one that's still got you riled up? Seriously -- that was, like, a hundred years ago. Even for people who aren't me."
She huffed at him. "I'm not riled up. I just... I don't know how to feel. We talked for the first time tonight. You know, since."
"You've been not-talking to her this whole time?" Tommy's eyebrow went up. "Hunh." It wasn't like Tommy didn't hold grudges - he could avoid certain people with the best of them. But it was weird to think about Kitty holding on to things like that. She seemed so much more ... well-adjusted than him. Less inclined to go for payback. On the other hand, he'd barely talked to Kitty since she'd gotten her fancy new job, so that actually tracked.
"And?" he prompted, since she didn't seem like she was going to keep going on her own.
Kitty shrugged, looking down at her hands. "I mean, I guess there was a lot of miscommunication. And hurt feelings on both sides. And all this time I...I kind of thought that she was there for Pyro, you know? But they broke up, and she still wants to stay, so... I guess that's the best place for her."
"Pretty sure he was part of it, at least at first," Tommy mused out loud. "But come on. She hated taking classes, really doesn't like following rules, and likes to blow shit up when she's mad. Is it really any wonder she jumped ship? It was bound to happen eventually. Especially to a group where she can't be given detention."
But she left me, Kitty thought, glancing at her hands before looking up at him. "I guess so. Anyway, you didn't come to listen to me talk about old arguments. How are you doing, anyway? I wish I could have come with everyone to get you out."
That got her a long look. "Not subtle." That was alright, though. He could always circle back. "Weren't you running half the computers and stuff for all the rescues at the time? You had more important shit to do than come after my sorry ass."
Kitty frowned. "But there isn't anything more important than that. I was working with Nolan because I was asked to, but you have to know that I wanted to be there for you."
"I never assume shit like that," Tommy kept his voice light and breezy. Hurts less that way when it doesn't happen.
"Tell you the truth, I didn't count on seeing anyone again. Not once they'd grabbed me. JP got away, that was the main thing," he added, more subdued -- momentarily back in that instant he'd chosen the sacrifice play.
She was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. Then she sat up and turned to face him, before pulling him into a tight, warm hug. "You idiot. We weren't going to let anything happen to you."
Kitty hugs. Hunh. She was warm and fierce (and smelled good) and after a moment's hesitation, he hugged her back. Tommy decided - and not for the first time - that Bobby was an idiot for whatever it was that he'd done to screw that up.
"Is calling me names supposed to be a sign of your love?" He joked, muffled against her hair. "Cause that's an ass-backward way to go about it."
"Too bad, because you're a big dumb jerk," Kitty continued, not bothering to stop hugging him. Why had she gotten so caught up in her work that Tommy could go thinking that he'd never be rescued? And why had she let it go so long since she'd just sat down and hugged him, because it felt really good. And she missed him. And she missed his stupid face. (Even if it was also Billy's face. Gawd, these boys.) "You are a big dumb jerk and you'll accept my love, and I'm gonna put a tracker on you so I never lose you again."
"Yeah. 'cause that worked so well the first time," he snorted, enjoying the contact for another beat (a lifetime) before he pulled away. Surviving had been for the best after all, and for an instant he was glad that he hadn't managed to get the guard to end his sorry existence. He'd have missed out on knowing a lot of really important stuff. Like the way Kitty was looking at him right now -- like he mattered. "And Shen already chewed me out for that whole thing anyway, so you're off the hook."
"This is why Shen is the best," Kitty reminded both of them as she drew back. Because she was. Even when Kitty was busy with her stupid junk, Shen was on top of things. She really needed to buy that girl a gift basket. Or just donate to a charity in her name, which was probably more Shen's speed. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I've been so wrapped up in things that I've let our friendship flunk."
"You've been busy, I get it." He shrugged it off and grinned, as nonchalant as possible. "New job, new life. But hey -- if the guilt means I get to see you at movie nights instead of having to buy my own Hampton beach house, I'll take it."
"Wouldn't really work, since my apartment's in the city and not in the Hamptons, but how about we have movie nights at my place sometimes? More food options, fewer distractions?" Kitty suggested.
"At your place - look at you." Tommy snickered, shaking his head. "And here I am counting down the days to eighteen when I can rent something without going through all that emancipation bullshit with the courts. I'm definitely going about things all wrong."
"You know, you could always stay whenever you wanted to get away," Kitty pointed out. "I'm only there every now and then, when I have to stay in the city too late to feel safe taking an Uber back to the school. I could give you an extra key."
Tommy felt guilty, briefly, then shook it off. "You're too nice," he informed her instead. "Here I am trying to get a rise out of you, teasing you about your prodigy-ness, and you offer me a key to your bachelor pad instead up putting your elbow in my ribs. What did we do to deserve you, Kittycat?"
Kitty huffed softly, glancing down at her hands. "It's not niceness. I mean, I guess it is, but it's, you know, a defense mechanism."
He frowned, wavering and unsure whether to be offended. "You need to defend yourself from me?"
Kitty gave the King of Defense Mechanisms a look. "I need to defend myself from everyone when it comes to shots at my intelligence."
Tommy snorted, relaxing again. "Oh, come on. It's not exactly news that your IQ is like four times mine. I'm clearly taking shots at your superstardom. Someone's gotta keep your ego in check before the paparazzi ruin you."
She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "You know that the only people who know who I am are people in the tech industry. No one else cares."
Shrugging, Tommy tugged experimentally at the ponytail in Kitty's hair. "Its only a matter of time before you're the next Steve Jobs. Unless there already has been a next Steve Jobs, in which case you're the next one of those." Did that parse? Yeah - convoluted, but acceptable. "Anyway, we care."
"There have been a few," Kitty grinned, "including Nolan. But I don't want to be a business person. I just like making things, especially for mutants. So...I'm glad you care. Because, you know. I care about you." And she wasn't really sure whether she meant that in an overall 'mutants' sense, or a 'Tommy' sense, but that seemed to happen a lot.
"That warms my heart, it really does," Tommy fired back, but there was nothing malicious in the grin on his face. "Now what do I have to do to get that smile to stick around? I'm not above dumping you and Yana together in a locked room until either a victor or a truce emerges."
Kitty glanced over at the dance floor, then looked back at him with a hopeful grin.
He followed her glance, half-expecting to see one of her new friends over there beckoning to her, but nope. Tommy nodded at the unspoken suggestion and was on his feet extending his hand to her before she could blink. "You got it, Kittycat. Let's go make 'em jealous."
no subject
Date: 2019-01-01 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-02 01:57 am (UTC)Also that she doesn't throw tantrums. (except we know better!)
Anyway, Awesome Log!!!