xmutanthigh | [scene] kitty and kittenssss.

"Hey, catnip," Julian knocked heavily on Kitty's door, twirling his keys around his finger and adjusting the collar of a thin fall jacket.

He hadn't seen Kitty at all during the first day he was home, and figured his brand spanking new Jaguar was reason as any to say hi and to show it off.

He frowned when there was no answer, leaning in to listen behind the door. "Kitty?" he called, pocketing his keys.

There was a muffled thud and a scuffle. Julian rose an eyebrow.

"Sweetheart, I know you are in there. And I am a telekinetic. So if you could open the door, we can skip the part where I let myself in anyway."

He heard a patter and then the door swung open. The smile on his lips faded as he leaned back, seeing his friend but not recognizing her--her usually silky hair was dry and in disarray, her face a bit drawn and pale, purple blotches beneath her eyes. Brown orbs looked up at him in surprise, but there was misery behind her shock.

"Julian!" she exclaimed, and then her arms were around his neck and her form was hanging off of him.

"Hey," he said hesitantly, wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her up against him and leaned down simultaneously, lessening the tug on his neck. "You look..." he started as she dropped down from his embrace. "...there's an actual cat on your head, Kitty," he teased, fingers reaching for a knot of hair.

"Oh..." She reached up to her head and tugged her digits through the mess, shooting him a bemused smile. "Oops."

"Are you sick or something?" He asked, brushing her hands out of the way. Carefully, he weaved his fingers around the tangled strands. His hand glowed faintly blue, moving slowly and surely through the telekinetically unknotting locks.

Kitty shook her head, initial excitement at the sight of Julian deflating with the reminder of John. She looked away and forced a smile, hoping to avoid the real subject of the problem at all costs. "Nah, I've just been tired lately." She lamely offered, toying with an unruly strand.

"You look--" He cut off, not quite believing her. He frowned. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine Julian." Kitty said, hoping to brush off the subject like it was nothing. He'd find out sooner or later she knew, but the longer she could be around the one person who didn't know about John's departure the better. Somehow it seemed less real that way. "So, you sticking around this time?"

"Yeah, of course," he smiled tentatively, not believing her but deciding to let it go for now. "I was going to ask you if wanted to come out with me, but since you're tired..." He trailed off, waiting for an answer.

Kitty's eyes brightened and she shook her head, clearing her throat and smoothing down her hair. "No!" She answered perhaps a bit too eagerly, but the prospect of leaving this place where every inch reminded her of John was a welcome one. "I mean- I'm not too tired. Going out would be cool." She added quickly with what she hoped looked like an indifferent shrug- Too much enthusiasm would make him even more suspicious.

"Awesome!" He flashed his teeth, simply happy to see something lively in her eyes. "I have a new car."

Smirking, he retrieved his keys from his pocket and jingled them over her head. "Okay!" She smiled. "Just let me... uhm freshen up," she said, looking down at her rumpled clothes.

Kitty darted back into her room and closed the door as Julian waited outside--after the first few minutes he leaned a shoulder against the wall and admired the Jaguar etched into his key. But after ten minutes had passed he was sighing and shifting from foot to foot in impatience.

He knocked on the door loudly. "Kitty? Did you die, sweetheart?"

"No!" There was a scuffle and Kitty swung the door open, dressed in jeans and a soft sweater and her hair combed and pulled back. "Just girl stuff," she explained away breathlessly.

Julian grimaced and Kitty let out a short giggle, heading towards the garage.

After a long bout of "oooh!"s and "ahhh!"s and Julian feeling very satisfied about his new baby, they were in the car intent on an aimless ride. The road from the mansion into town was long and dark, and the moon hardly filtered through the tall hanging trees.

They were quiet for a long time before Julian finally spoke. "So how's John?" He asked tentatively. He hadn't seen the pyromaniac, and no one had mentioned him--and Kitty seemed so sad...

Kitty's face fell at the mention of John, and instead she turned her gaze out the window. "He's good. Visiting.." Kitty trailed off, realizing that she couldn't pull the excuse of John seeing family because as far as she knew, he didn't have any left. "Friends. He called me the other night and said he'd be back soon."

She still wasn't quite sure why she kept lying to Julian- It was the denial speaking, and she thought maybe- just maybe if she made herself believe John hadn't taken off at all, it would be true.

"Oh," he replied, holding in a sigh of relief. It wasn't as if he honestly thought John had died--he would've heard about it, at least from Ali--but hearing confirmation he hadn't, straight from Kitty's mouth, dispelled his fear. "I didn't think he had any friends," he chuckled once, lamely, and turned towards Kitty, his smile dying at her frown and down-turned eyes.

John might be okay, but something had happened. Something was wrong. Kitty didn't answer and Julian looked back to the road, feeling a pang of empathy raise up.

He understood. He understood not wanting to talk about some things, to push them away. Unseeingly he reached for her hand, encasing her small fingers and squeezing.

Kitty felt unexpected tears spring to her eyes at the feel of his fingers grasping hers, and she squeezed back. She didn't think she would've been able to say anything anyway, the lump in her throat threatening to push through. But she swallowed it and instead forced a wavering smile in his direction, meeting his eyes briefly.

"Thanks Julian." Kitty said quietly.

He smiled thinly and sighed. "I have an idea," he said after a beat as they pulled onto the main road.

Street lights and signs suddenly made the world brighter, and he stepped on the gas, the engine purring as the speedometer reached up dramatically. It wasn't long before the Jaguar pulled into a small shopping center, easily fitting between two cars.

Julian smiled at her questioning expression and slid out, telekinetically unhooking her seatbelt and opening the door. "Maybe this'll cheer you up?" He walked backwards as she climbed out, shutting the door behind her.

"What...?"

"The pet store," he grinned, gesturing behind him, past a storefront.

Kitty grinned- Even with John's absence she couldn't help it. She ran to catch up with Julian, nodding in thanks as he opened the door to the pet store. She could already hear the various sounds of animals as she stepped inside, smiling as she walked up and pressed her face against the window.

She squealed a little at the sight of a litter of tiny kittens and looked up at Julian at her side, "Can we play with them?" Kitty asked hopefully.

"Why the hell do you think I took you here, sweetheart?" He asked rhetorically, laughing. He reached into the litter despite the signs saying to ask an associate, unable to hold in a smile at the kittens' harmless swiping paws and excited eyes.

Two small mewling kitties fit easily inside his cupped palms. One of them latched desperately onto his shirt and the other attempted to crawl up his arm.

"Oh." Kitty breathed at the closer look at the tiny things, reaching out with her hand to brush the side of a kitten's face. "They're so little." She lifted up one and giggled as it gave a tiny little 'meow', snuggling its small face into the crook of her arm.

"They're so cute," Julian laughed, pulling the exuberant kitten from his shirt. She clung to it, making a harmless little growl at her nails dug deeper.

Smiling, he looked over to Kitty and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"I missed you, cat nip," he said, kissing her forehead.

Kitty smiled back and leaned into his embrace, feeling herself relax for the first time since John left.

"I missed you too, Julian." Kitty replied quietly, thinking at that moment that nothing was better than the comfort of friends and kittens.

[scene] kitty and kittenssss.

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