2013.10.20 - Sweet Dreams

SPOILER ALERT: Please note, there are spoilers in the log for the movie Escape Plan, read at own risk.

"Well, while I was disappointed we missed the times for Machete Kills - I really enjoyed Arnie and Stallone, instead."

The voice comes from one Kitty Pryde, as she exits a small theater. Half of a bucket full of popcorn is resting under the crook of her left arm, and a plastic soda cup in the other. The popcorn is gestured towards the tall, dark haired Russian that makes his way out with her, before tossed into the over sized garbage cans located outside the theater doors. "Though /some/ of the situations where far-fetched even for /them/. I mean, seriously. The mechanical locks they'd utilize in that first break-out scene would /so/ recognize if there was a foreign substance within it, and not able to be /locked/." The brunette offers a rolling of her eyes, as she wipes her hands down the front of the pair of jeans she wears, getting the condensation from the soda container off with a quick gesture.

"Buuut.." Kitty offers, as she begins to move down the hallway, leading out of the theater and towards the parking lot beyond. "It was a lot of fun." Her hazel eyes shift a bit nervously towards Piotr, trying to judge his emotions over the movie, and the 'pseudo' date they're on. As is Kitty's custom, when nervous, she talks. And right now. She's feeling a bit nervous. "So whatya feel like for dinner? Chinese? Italian? There's a new pizza joint not too far.."

Walking alongside the animated Kitty, Piotr is smiling as well, though as is typical for the tall Russian, he isn't quite as vocal as his companion for the evening. He seems to enjoy letting her talk though, a small smile playing about the corners of his lips as he moves with her out of the theater as he listens. The offer of popcorn is met with a brief shake of his head, and it's only as he's certain that she pauses for a breath that he takes the opportunity to join in to the conversation, his own voice typically soft-spoken. "Da, and I still do not think that they wouldn't have noticed that they were on a ship. No matter how big it was..." He shakes his head then, before his smile grows wider. "Still, I agree. It was very entertaining - I didn't expect that Stallone and Swarzenegger would work so well together!"

As the two move to the parking lot, Piotr is quick to get the door for Kitty, allowing her to exit the building before he follows after, taking a couple longer strides to catch up to her after he passes through the doorway as well. His arms rest almost awkwardly at his sides, and he glances over towards Kitty as he comes up to walk directly along side her, one arm starting to move out towards her before he pulls it back in again a bit self-consciously. The motion is mirrored by a brief, unsure look that crosses over the Russian's features, and he slips his hands into the pockets of his pants nervously before Kitty makes the inquiry of where to eat. The choice is a welcome distraction for Piotr, though he does look a little like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights with the question. For some reason, he thought that Katya would have the restaurant picked out already, but now he kicks himself mentally as he realizes that this is something he should have been on top of! Quick, Piotr, he thinks... Make it seem like you've already got this figured out! Hoping not to sound too much like he's grasping for a lifeline, Piotr clears his throat and nods as suavely as he can - which, sadly, isn't that much for the provincial son of a farmer. "I have heard good things about the new pizza place, actually. I was hoping that you might like to try it out with me, Katya," he adds with a smile.

Perhaps thankfully for the tall Russian, Kitty Pryde is in her own world of wonder, nerves, and enjoyment. She misses entirely any nervousness that Piotr might have had, or even the deer in the headlights expression that briefly flitted across his features. (It's also important to note, that she would have to tilt her head back a bit and look /up/ to view this expression, so it's not /that/ difficult for Piotr to get away with it.) No, Kitty's still idly walking out of the theater, towards the parking lot, and then heading down the sidewalk, to move at a quick, yet comfortable gait towards the establishment that Piotr suggested. Or.. was that Kitty that suggested it?

"Oh I know!" Is the conversation that Kitty continues upon, her hands idly gesturing as she speaks. "They had such a great bro-mance! I bet that's something they've always wanted to do; work together, cause they sure seemed to be having fun. Jim too. He made /such/ a great villain. He's over the top, but not too bad style of villain."

The walk swiftly comes to an end, as Kitty pauses before the Italian Restaurant, reaching the door before Piotr can open it for her, Kitty opens it for Piotr instead, making sure to shoo him inside, before entering behind him. Like most places, the interior is fairly dark, but the decorations are well done, and tasteful, as the hostess sets Kitty and Piotr in a nice, quiet booth, and a couple menus, before telling them their waiter will be Alberto.

Parting open the menu, after they're left alone, Kitty's gaze flickers towards the different items, before lowering the bit of cardboard down to eye Piotr with a twinkle to her hazel gems. "Do you trust me?" The line is, of course, from a certain Star Trek movie, but the sentiment, at least, is still there.

Though he's not as much as a movie aficionado as Kitty is, Piotr seems quite happy and content to be talking with the girl about not only the show that they've just watched, but also the actors in it and the other sorts of work that they've done. For some reason, he finds, it's just easy to chat with her about just about anything - or, to talk about nothing at all. For someone like Piotr, who sometimes finds that he can take too long making certain that he chooses just the rights words to say, it's a nice feeling to be able to just be himself, and, as the Americans say, let his hair hang down a bit. Not that he has long hair to hang down, but that's besides the point.

As the pair reach the restaurant, Piotr tries gallantly to reach out to get the door again for Kitty, but the ornery girl rushes to make it there first, thwarting his chivalrous efforts. The tall Russian pulls a brief face of consternation as he's denied the attempt, but he realizes that not only is Katya more stubborn than he, but it would also be quite remiss of him to countermand her own gesture to him. With a rueful shake of his head and a lopsided grin, Piotr enters as she holds open the door, though he can't help but comment quietly, "The others here will think I am a very poor date, making you open the door for me." Still, the amused sound to his rich Russian accent indicates that he's not upset about the turnabout in the least.

He settles in across Kitty in their nice, secluded booth, then, spending more attention on her than he does his menu. Watching her features as she studies the various entrees, enjoying the subtle shifts in the lines of her face, the way her hair dances about, the little crinkle at the top of her nose as she ponders one thing or another... And in fact, he's watching her so closely that he flushes up a bit as she suddenly returns his gaze, and poses her question to him. He misses the reference of the quote, but answers her without missing a beat. "Of course, Katya." The reply is made honestly, if a bit confused, before a bit of a light bulb dawns and he realizes that this is not just a random question - she's asking him in regards to the menu! Which, is just as well, as he hasn't been focusing on his at all anyways. "Whatever you wish to order for me, I am sure that I will enjoy," he continues with a smile. "I place myself in your hands."

Impishly, and mischievously, Kitty's grin only widens at Piotr's words, hazel gems twinkling in the dim lighting of the establishment. The menu is closed up, as she shifts a bit in the booth, having a slight moment of 'what do I say now'. Her mouth is suddenly dry as a bone, and they waiter hasn't given them a lick of water! Clearing her throat, Kitty's saved from any further awkwardness by the arrival of the waiter, 'Alberto'.

The ordering goes something akin to, "Large mushroom, pepperoni and sausage, easy sauce, tossed crust. And a bottle of your house red wine to go with it, please." After pulling out her identification to show that yes, Kitty is over twenty-one, the waiter takes the order, deposits a couple glasses of water, and makes his departure with good grace.

This leaves Kitty to ponder conversations again. Err... a wild look enters her gaze before she just starts talking. And well, lets the ease of the moment slip into her conversation. "Kurt and TJ - that's Kurt's daughter from an alternate timeline - visited the other day." Kitty states with a bright smile to her features. "I miss him, lots." Her brows furrow together momentarily, before returning to her normal good graces. "And TJ's just awesome. Sweet. Fun. We had a great, long visit."

The waiter soon returns with the house wine, which he pours a couple glasses for Kitty and Piotr, and makes good his escape again, leaving Kitty to take a sip, before continuing. "And Rachel's, sadly, back in Genosha. Though I think I told you that last time. Anyway. I miss her lots. Do..do you remember when my 'older' self traded places with me..?" The question is left open, as Kitty's gaze focuses upon Piotr intently.

Whether or not he realizes just what sort of a set-up he may have given Kitty, Piotr remains mum while she ponders a response - and is summarily saved by the timely arrival of the waiter, Alberto. Piotr gladly lets Kitty make the order, and is pleasantly surprised by the pizza toppings that she directs for the evening's meal - which sound quite tasty indeed! In fact, Piotr finds himself licking his lips a bit as the pizza is ordered, before he disguises the motion with a deft sip of the newly arrived water in front of him.

"I have not seen Kurt since I've returned to the mansion," Piotr laments then, at the mention of the fuzzy elf. "I hope he is doing well - you say that he has a daughter? From another timeline?" The news causes Piotr to blink a little bit. Despite how much he's seen and experienced, how much he's directly been a part of even, things like this still cause him to pause just a little bit as he needs to take a moment to wrap his head around alternate dimensions and timelines. "I shall have to meet her! I'm glad you had such a good visit - I imagine that Kurt will probably want to enlist your aid as baby-sitter then, if you've made such good friends with her." He smiles easily, not really knowing or realizing how hold TJ actually is - but, alternate timelines aside, when Piotr hears 'Kurt' and 'daughter' in the same sentence, he automatically assumes that the girl must be fairly young.

Piotr nods a polite thank you to the waiter as the man bustles by again with the wine, and then takes his own thin-stemmed goblet to swish the dark liquid about slightly, taking a small sip as well. The Russian looks across the table at Kitty as the girl's tone turns a bit more serious, his own eyebrows creasing slightly towards the bridge of his nose. "Da, I remember that well. You seemed so different, none of us knew what to make of it. The world that she... that you, spoke of. It sounded very terrible, Katya. I hope every day that we can avoid it." He pauses then, tilting his head minutely as he regards the young woman across from him. "You do not speak of that time often, I hope you did not have to witness much of it?"

A laugh, and Kitty first has to address TJ. "Oh. I'm sorry - Talia.. TJ's - gosh, I bet she's about my age! Timelines, and dimensions, and alternate earths aside, she's not that much younger than Kurt! So I don't think she'll be needing a baby sitter. /Not/ that I wouldn't enjoy just hanging out with her though! She's a lot of fun to be around." The smile to Kitty's features only brightens more as she remembers the afternoon spent with Kurt and his daughter.

The smile wanes, just a tad, as she inclines her head to Piotr, "Yes. Well.." A breath, and Kitty sits back more in her chair, hands needling in front of her, "Rachel. Is the Rachel that sent 'Kate' back in time." Hazel eyes lift upwards to cast a look at Piotr. "Or at least, I really do feel it is. She doesn't remember a /thing/, and frankly again alternate timelines, and dimensions, and if you step on a butterfly in this one, then everything turns into lizard men in another - so. Who knows. And I'm not making any sense. Anyway! She's /sorta/ from that timeline, actually I think it's the same one." Kitty's upper teeth maul away at her bottom lip a moment, "When I traded places and minds with my older self, they all thought I was comatose, asleep, but I wasn't. I could feel everything, see everything, hear everything that was going on around me. Rachel protected me through it, and I'll never forget it, for I was so scared, and so confused. And..so sad. I never have told Rachel everything that I saw that day, I d..don't really know if I should, as her memories are completely jumbled together, but if it /is/ the same Rachel - I owe her my life." A sip of the dark liquid, before Kitty's gaze flickers upwards to Piotr's, a soft smile playing about her features. "Anyway; when you meet her - as I really hope they'll be visiting again soon! You'll see what I mean. She's a great person, but very intense, and very stubborn, and very much a red-head!" The laugh Kitty gives is soft, as her eyes lower down to her hands, then back to Piotr.

"Sorry if I'm rambling, but it's easy for me to talk about friends. I'm glad that you shaved, by the way. Your features are much more handsome .. I mean not that they weren't with the mustache.. but I mean, they were then too, and are now.. and I mean.. ah.... I .. ah. I mean. Well. Yes. They are, but I..anyway." And Kitty takes an entire swig of the red liquid as she stutters out the last.

Though his early statement about babysitting needs was a fairly clear indicator that Piotr had thought TJ to be fairly young, that incorrect assumption is highlighted as Kitty explains the other girl's actual age, and the Russian mutant sits there looking a little perplexed for a moment. "Bozhe moi," he utters quietly, "Kurt must feel so old!" He shakes his head, then, and is about to continue when Kitty begins to explain about Rachel, and where she and Rachel met, and if Piotr thought that TJ's origins were difficult to comprehend... Well, the timeline that Rachel comes from isn't necessarily complex for Piotr to understand, but it is certainly a grim and sobering concept, and he does have a hard time imagining how anyone may have survived in such a world, let alone done so with any sanity left over. Surely, it is a blessing for the girl that her memories are as jumbled as Kitty says. "She could not have found a better friend in this time than you, Katya," Piotr states truthfully, then, knowing the girl's ability to put those around her at ease, and her fierce loyalty to friends and family alike. "I am glad that she is no longer there, that she has found a home here instead, where there is still hope for a better tomorrow. Though," he adds almost as an afterthought, "I am starting to wonder how many of the X-Men actually are native to this timeline, now?"

Piotr grins easily after the comment, the expression showcasing the smooth and shaven lines of his cheeks and jaw, punctuating Kitty's comments about his lack of moustache. He reaches up one square hand to rub at the bare skin there as Kitty begins to make note of it, but a rosy hue quickly rises to those cheeks as she starts to stumble over her compliments. "I am glad you think so," he finally states, recovering from the moment a bit quicker than Kitty, his own eyes twinkling a little bit as he speaks. "And if you prefer me this way, then I will promise to never grow a moustache again." Piotr grins wider then, before a thoughtful mein moves over his face as he regards Kitty. He opens his mouth to say something else, closes it suddenly, and then opens it once more before he changes his mind again. "Katya," he starts out. "I have heard of a dance that is being held at the mansion. I do not know if it is just for the younger students, but, if not... I was wondering... Would you like to go with me?"

"Yes!" A pause, a beat, and then Kitty's flushing all manner of red, before she laughs, "I mean, I'd really like that." She finishes, unable to stop the wide smile that is on her features, and remains there as the waiter returns then with the pizza, and is still there several minutes after eating two entire pieces.

Like normal conversations, food tends to quiet things down a bit, as Kitty yammers on about the dance, about things that have been going on, and mundane conversation concerning everything from movies, to television shows, to Dr. Who and Sherlock!

Collecting up a napkin, Kitty's fingers idly press the cloth against the corner of her mouth, where a pile of grease and cheese has piled from her last bite, the motion quick and deft before the napkin returns to her lap. "Not bad pizza." She offers, casting a glance towards Piotr, then down to her food again, checking to see if the hunky Russian agrees with her sentiments. "Though I'm not a fan of the wine." Her glass remains half drank, and her water already filled twice, as Kitty wrinkles her nose upwards.

After finishing with dinner, and letting Piotr pay for the bill - cause, well, he insisted, a short drive home later, and Kitty idly stands before the turn in the hallway leading down to the room her and Rachel share. A brief shrug is offered, as Kitty raises shoulders upwards and back down as she takes in a deep breath, looking up at Piotr with a soft smile to her features. "I.. well, I had a really great night, Piotr." She begins, her upper teeth once again mauling her bottom lip, as Kitty shifts her stance from one foot to the other, "We should totally do that more often!" Dates? Well, Kitty doesn't say just begins to turn down the hall. She pauses a moment, gazing up at Piotr, "Thank you. Piotr."

During the meal, Piotr's smile is as wide as Kitty's, and truthfully he's so happy as to her enthusiastic answer to his invite that the food could have been simply awful and he wouldn't mind. Thankfully, though, the food is actually quite good - so, things are going swimmingly all across the board this evening. "Da, the pizza is very good," he agrees, as if the five pieces that he himself ate isn't a good enough indicator. His own glass of wine is only marginally more imbibed than Kitty's, but Piotr offers a noncommittal shrug as to how good or bad it was. "I've had better wine as well, but I've also had worse." He's not a really heavy wine drinker any way, so it's all about the same to the Russian. The left over pizza (what little there is) is boxed up to feed the scavengers (or, whoever raids the fridge first back at the mansion), and Piotr does indeed insist on picking up the tab, even leaving a pretty good tip for Alberto.

Before he knows it, the pair are back at the mansion and the date is just about over... As much as Piotr might not wish it to be. But there they are, at the corner of the hallway. If they didn't live in the same building, this would be akin to dropping the girl off on her front porch. Piotr returns Kitty's smile with a quiet one of his own, nodding as she expresses her enjoyment of the evening. "I would like that, Katya, a lot," he agrees, inclining his head to regard the cute girl with a warm expression. "I enjoyed myself too, very much." Somehow, then, Piotr finds that he's reached out his big, strong hand to take Kitty's much smaller one within it, returning her soulful gaze as he does so. It's a surprisingly nice sensation, her soft skin against his, and Piotr's voice catches just slightly. "Thank you as well, Katya. I..." There's no one else in the hallway, and time seems to hang for a moment before the big Russian makes up his mind, leaning down to close the distance between the two as he gives the girl a brief but warm kiss. "Neznee sohn," he whispers then, before letting go of her hand and retreating back down the hallway towards his own room.