Pete and Kitty | NYE

[ax_shadowcat]

Pete and Kitty kiss at midnight.

When Hana had come to Kitty earlier in the evening, Kitty had done the right thing. She'd told Hana that she should explore what she was feeling for Bobby, and that Kitty wouldn't harbor any ill will about it. Because that's what you were supposed to do, right? And because Kitty had been the one to end things with Bobby, and because they were...friends. She was friends with Bobby, and she wanted him to be happy, and she wanted Hana to be happy. Just because she'd dated him before didn't mean anything.

Except, as midnight neared, and Kitty was left without anyone to kiss, she realized that she couldn't actually watch it happen. All of the happy couples in the room were already sneaking off. Even as she had the thought, she watched Nolan and Shaun disappear out the doors of the gym, and a knot began to form in her stomach. She should leave, right? But if she left and someone saw her leave, then that would be like saying she didn't approve of Bobby and Hana, and she couldn't do that to either of them. So she had to stay. And she had to look happy.

Even as she laughed and raised her cup to someone passing by, she could feel the panic creeping up her throat. The countdown was on. One minute. A hi-five to one of the boys, then she kept moving across the dance floor, trying to avoid seeing either Bobby or Hana. Thirty seconds. She cheered with one of the younger girls who zoomed past her like she'd had way too much sugar. Ten seconds.

Ten seconds to go and her gaze landed on Pete. And Kitty, who didn't have anything to lose at that point, set her cup down and kept moving. By the time the count was at five, she'd reached him, and reached up to gently tug at his tie. No words. She couldn't do that.

Pete had been standing near the wall, sipping at his Scotch, watching people start to pair off for midnight, and hoping he was out of range of any confetti canons, glitter bombs, purple bubble sludge, or anyting else this lot might come up with to celebrate the ringing in of the new year. Attention fixed on the young Asian kid who'd been bouncing around with something that looked like fireworks coming out of her fingers (which seemed pretty damn lightly to send the whole place up in flames, but no one else seemed to worry about that) he didn't notice anyone approaching until he felt omeone tug at his tie and looked down.

And blinked as he saw Kitty Pryde there. Who, he'd been assured earlier by TJ, some version of him had actually managed a relationship with in some other reality. "Need something?"

Words. Damnit. Kitty had been so close.

As midnight hit and shouts erupted around them, her fingers loosened their grip slightly and she felt herself start to lean backward. She could run. She could say she'd just been drunk and had thought he was someone else. She was smart. She could come up with a million excuses. "I.."

Damn. Just a minute too late, Pete realized exactly what Pryde had wanted. He wasn't sure whether she'd had a bet on with one of her friends or had just decided she was going to get kissed at midnight and figured he was available, but he'd screwed up her plan with his question, and now she was looking awkward.

Which was a crap way to start the new year. With that in mind (and yeah, okay, kissing her had come to mind more than once since their trip through fantasyland) Pete wrapped one arm around her to keep her from backing up more, then leaned down and kissed her with enthusiasm. After all, it was New Years.

Kitty was halfway through an excuse when his arm captured her, lips pressing against her own, and her fingers tightened once more on the tie. She fit her lips against his own, slightly parted in surprise as she felt a wave of heat sweep through her, coiling in her stomach. It was...nothing like those first timid kisses with Bobby, or even the later, more familiar ones. This kiss carried with it all of the memories of another lifetime, bickering and back and forth, and enmity, and want. She could barely taste the lingering, bitter smoke of nicotine on his breath, but rather than anger her, or turn her away, somehow made the kiss that much more enticing. Like...something forbidden. Which was totally cliche, but she didn't give a damn right about then.

And yeah. That was definitely what he'd been wanting to do since they'd finished bantering their way through the smoke of that fire, wasn't it? Except given what had happened right after, it hadn't seemed like the right time and - fine, Pete was maybe willing to admit that (to himself, at least) that he'd been gunshy of starting anything since Sari St. Hubbins had used his sorry ass to try and get close to the royal family. Maybe he was finally getting over that, though, because Pryde didn't seem anywhere near as much a kid as he'd first guessed her to be, and despite him having taken her by surprise, definitely knew her way around a kiss.

Finally (probably too long, but what the hell, she wasn't complaining and he could always blame the Scotch and the holiday) he pulled back and smirked, just a little. Because casual was the best way to go, wasn't it, at least until he could find out whether or not she was going to slap him hard enough to cause whiplash. "Happy New Year, Pryde."

Heat surged into Kitty's cheeks and for just a moment, she wanted to slap him, just for being snarky. But...she didn't. She took a breath, gave a nod, and answered, "Yeah, uh. Happy New Year."

Then she phased down through the floor as fast as she could. Sure it was the coward's way out, but even if she'd wanted to stay solid right then, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to.

Pete blinked as he watched her sink down through the floor. Right then. He supposed it was a step up from being slapped, but somehow, it didn't much feel like one. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he retrieved his drink, polished it off in one large gulp, and headed off to bed.

Comments

[ax_mimic]

Shen so wants a debrief!