Chapter Text
Living at the institute was amazing and certainly better than Kitty ever could've imagined when she was first sent away from home. Regardless of how sweet it could be sometimes, the mornings were a certified nightmare. It didn't matter how big their home was or how all of their rooms had their own bathroom one of the boys somehow always found a way to steal her hairbrush or mascara and she knew they were doing it on purpose but she wasn't about to stoop to their level and retaliate. At least not until she thought of something worth stealing.
On top of the bathroom warfare, there's this buzz of hyperactivity that runs through the building. Shouts from other students in the hallways, both from laughter and from arguments, the sound of pounding feet, and the crash of powers being used improperly way too early. It's way different than home but, even though it was jarring sometimes, Kitty's come to think about the chaos fondly. They may not be related but they were still family, you know?
Her brush is missing, unsurprisingly, so she hurriedly finger-combs her hair into her typical high ponytail and thinks about the choice words she'd like to say to Kurt when she ran into the furry blue menace down in the kitchen. She doesn't have time for any real make-up but her skin is blessedly clear so she snatches her favorite lip gloss from beside the sink and opts to phase through the door to save time. She very nearly runs into Evan as the boy skateboards through the hall, "You're not allowed to do that!" She calls after him only to get a shouted apology in return. It doesn't matter, Jean or Scott are inevitably going to call Evan out on his rule-breaking and Kitty follows quickly after him just so she can have the satisfaction of watching Evan's scolding.
They all knew that the oldest of them were the most responsible, Scott being as uptight as he was and Jean just being much calmer and balanced than their younger teammates. As long as those scoldings weren't directed at her Kitty was kind of jealous of how put together they seemed sometimes. It felt like Jean's biggest problem was being so good at everything it stretched her too thin and Scott was so infuriatingly capable he was often the one to get them out of a sticky situation regardless of whether it was a mission or not.
She's jogging down the stairs when she hears Evan's indignant squawk. A smile quickly grows on her face and she picks up the pace, phasing through the wall just in time to see Evan peeling himself off the floor. Meanwhile, his skateboard is floating through the air into Jean's outstretched hand. Scott and Jean are side-by-side at the kitchen island, both of them staring unimpressed down at a sheepish Evan. It's not surprising that the two are together, it was technically Jean's turn to prepare breakfast but whenever one of them was assigned the chore it was common to find the other trailing in to help. It was well understood by the rest of the X-Men that they weren't to be bothered. Despite the fact that they were in such a public place it felt like intruding. It's ridiculous really how long it took the two of them to realize they liked each other.
"No wheels inside," Scott scolds, crossing his arms over his chest and looking for all intents and purposes like a disappointed father. Evan chuckles awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. That's what the jerk gets for nearly running her over.
"You could hurt somebody," Jean jumps in, free hand on her hip and worried tilt to her lips.
"Or break something." Scott adds on, "We have rules for a reason, Evan, and it isn't to ruin your fun. We have a gym and a huge yard, not to mention the Danger Room if you need more of a thrill. It's disrespectful-"
"-to the Professor and the other students. Yeah, I know. Sorry, Scott." Evan raises his hands in surrender and offers up a tentative smile.
Scott, in turn, raises an eyebrow. It's one of the few expressions of his they could actually read with those glasses of his in the way. Evan maintains his meek posture, hoping that putting up a more pitiful appearance would put an end to the lecture that was likely building in Scott's chest. A few moments pass and Kitty isn't sure what's going to happen. She looks curiously between the two boys waiting for someone to move. She glances Jean's way to see what she thinks and spots an amused grin on her face, hand raised as if prepared to muffle a giggle.
Suddenly a matching grin spreads across Scott's face and Kitty just knows that they had been mentally plotting together. "Alright, just don't let there be a next time." He submits, turning back to the stove where what smells like pancakes are cooking. Evan cheers and gratefully accepts his board back from Jean. "Just be ready for training after school later, alright? I think you could learn a few things." Evan's smile drops and Jean's giggle finally breaks free.
Kitty's definitely satisfied, practically skipping further into the kitchen to steal a sausage from the plate next to the stove, "Yeah, Evan. You gotta be careful." She nods curtly, taking a bite of her stolen goods and feeling a bloom of pride when she hears Scott huff an amused breath.
"Don't taunt him, Kitty," Jean tries to be strict but there's still a light tone to her voice that keeps Kitty from taking her too seriously.
"C'mon, I won't do it again. Really." Evan takes his seat at the island with a frown, board tucked up safely underneath his stool. He picks up a fork and spins it between his fingers, bracing his elbow on the counter and letting his head fall into his palm.
"I'm sure you won't," Scott agrees, flipping his last pancake and adding it to the large stack on another plate. From the looks of it breakfast is almost done. Beside the stove is a large stack of pancakes, a bowl of scrambled eggs, the sausage pyramid Kitty stole from, and a rack of bacon. On Scott's other side Jean is neatly cutting up strawberries and pineapple and scraping the results into a bowl next to what Kitty thinks is a serving bowl of yogurt. Meals were a bit of an affair at the institute with all the growing teenage mutants and whatnot. It was nice, really. Chaotic and loud but nice. That was life at the Institute.
Kitty knows this relative peace is fleeting. She herself was short on time when she came barreling out of her room so it was only a matter of moments before everyone else made their sudden appearances. She basks in the quiet while it lasts, merrily chewing on the sausage she'd taken while watching Jean and Scott casually work around the other. She wonders if they're still having secret conversations in their heads. She wants to be intertwined with someone like that, it's just so sweet. She couldn't imagine being so in sync with any of the guys she liked. Ugh, stupid cute couples.
With a soft bamf! and a whiff of brimstone Kurt makes his appearance, landing neatly on top of the kitchen island. "Hey!" Kitty cries, batting away the tail that was suddenly swaying in her face.
"Woah, sorry!" Kurt teleports away in just another blinking, landing next to Jean and leaning over to get a peak at what was lined up to eat. He makes a pleased sound in the back of his throat, eyeing the sausage and bacon intently.
"Kurt, we're just about done in here. Will you help us get all of this to the table?" Jean asks, using her powers to pick up the trays of bacon and sausage while Scott scoops up the platter of pancakes.
"Ja, of course." Kurt's way too eager to agree, tail lashing in the excitement of being able to dig in. It's while he grabs the bowl of yogurt and ports away to the dining room just around the corner that Rogue makes her way in.
The girl spots the meats floating through the air and grabs the bacon out of the air as it passes her.
"Thanks, Rogue." Jean smiles, using her powers to instead lift the bowl of fruit instead.
"No problem," Rogue assures, grabbing a piece of bacon from the plate and biting into it as she joins Scott in the short walk into the dining room. Kitty takes that as he cue and joins the line of teenagers. Kurt is already seated and Evan is quick to dance around and lay out the silverware he'd been playing with. Kitty goes about dishing out the plates so she isn't the only one who doesn't help with breakfast prep. That'd just be a bad look and she really was helpful.
There's more than enough room to house all the dishes, with just the handful of them they didn't even take up half of the large table. Sometimes it still made Kitty's head spin how big this place was. Kitty takes the empty seat next to Kurt and Rogue sits across from her. Scott's standing behind the chair next to her adjusting the food so it was easier for everyone to reach and Jean merrily took the empty seat next to him. "Oh, drinks," Scott hums as he straightens, "Give me just a second." He heads back towards the kitchen, disappearing around the corner as the rest of them get settled.
A little chatter starts up, Kurt staring straight at the sausages as if he was waiting for the okay to lunge for his food. Evan was snickering at the poor guy which prompts Rogue to roll her eyes and reach out, grabbing one of the links, and swiftly bite it in two. Kurt lights up, having assumed that they were waiting to start together. Probably out of politeness if Kitty had to guess, it's a sweet sentiment. She giggles as Kurt quickly scoops up three of the sausages in his hand, immediately shoving one of the links into his mouth.
"Dude, it's just sausage." Evan snorts, knocking his shoulder playfully into Kurt's.
"Ja, but it's good sausage." Kurt insists around his mouthful.
It's then that Scott returns, a few cartons tucked under his arm and a pitcher of orange juice held in his free hand. Quite thanks are exchanged as they push around the dishes to make room again for the new additons. Scott sets down the pitcher while Rogue helps grab the cartons from under his arm. She places the lemonade down easily but pauses when she catches sight of the other.
"Scott?" She muses quietly, waiting until Scott turns to look at her before she continues. She has everyone's attention when she says "Why'd you grab the heavy cream?"
The whole table is silent for a few beats, Scott standing there staring down at the carton in Rogue's hand with an unreadable expression. "Is that what that is?" Scott finally asks, brows noticeably furrowed under the rim of his glasses.
"Yeah." Kitty breaks in, nodding.
"Guess I got them mixed up, the label's been rubbed off for a few weeks." Scott huffed, either embarrassed or bitter about the mix-up. Kitty really couldn't tell what he was feeling most of the time. She figured maybe she should try to pay a bit more attention.
"But the cream's purple?" Evan grabs a pancake from the stack with his hands, nibbling on the edge as he looks between Scott and the carton of heavy cream. Scott's only looking at the heavy cream and Kitty swears he's staring at it like it's betrayed him.
"Yeah." Scott couldn't have sounded less convincing. If anything he sounds kind of tired. He reaches up and carefully pushes up his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose, his other hand bracing on his hip. Another pose of his that makes him look like a disappointed dad. Surprisingly he takes off his glasses completely, eyes squeezed tightly shut, and slowly holds them out to Rogue. "Do me a favor and put those on and tell me what color it is now."
Rogue doesn't question it. She grabs the glasses from Scott's waiting hand carefully and slips them onto her face, immediately she breathes a soft "Oh." and swivels her head around, looking from item to item.
"Is the tint stronger than you thought?" Kitty asks, a bit baffled but how stunned Rogue was. They all knew Scott's glasses have a red tint to them, it was impossible not to notice, and while it makes sense that it would make it hard to differentiate between blues and purples Kitty can't imagine it's crazy enough to look around like the whole world's different. It's just like slipping on a pair of sunglasses.
"They ain't tinted." Rogue replies.
"Vat do you mean?" Kurt's successfully devoured his sausages and now he's zeroed in on the building mystery.
"Do ya see like this all o' the time?" Rogue ignores Kurt and turns her attention back to Scott, peeling the glasses off of her face and placing them with the utmost care into Scott's patiently waiting hand.
Scott doesn't respond immediately. He heaves a heavy sigh as he neatly slips his glasses back onto his face, making sure that they're perfectly in place before finally opening his eyes. It's easy to tell when his eyes open, there's a dim flash of red light behind the thick lenses that you can only really catch if you're looking for it. Kitty's always thought it looked pretty cool and she can admit to herself that she's definitely looking for it.
"I don't have much of a choice." Scott finally confesses, crossing his arms and curling his fingers tightly into his biceps. "The quartz these are made of are the only thing that's been able to stop my beams, so. If I'm gonna see anything it's gonna be in shades of red."
"Wait, like. Red red?" Evan pipes up, half-eaten pancake hanging forgotten in his hand.
"Like red red," Rogue confirms. Scott's grip only tightens and he turns his face away. Kitty can spot a flush rushing up his neck and she frowns. It's funny, sometimes, when Scott fumbles but this isn't like when he's failed flirting with Jean in the past. She doesn't like that this embarressment is, like, about him. It's not his fault. "It's like looking through a red film or somethin'. Everythin's red. Pure red."
"So the label…" Jean trails off, reaching out and laying a comforting hand on top of one of Scott's own. "It's not a big deal, I can go grab the milk, okay?" She offers sweetly, standing smoothly and reaching around Scott to get the cream from Rogue.
Scott takes a steady breath, holding it in his lungs for a few moments before slowly exhaling. Kitty wonders again if the two of them are lost in their own mental conversation or if that was just the kind of thing that Scott coached himself to do sometimes. "That'd be great, Jean. Knowing my luck I'd come back with the half n' half instead." Scott smiles, tension visibly bleeding out of his shoulders as he lowers down into his seat. The new silence that engulfs them is painfully awkward but Scott merrily pours himself a glass of orange juice while the rest of them try to figure out what to say.
"Do you remember colors?" Kurt finally asks.
"Dude!" Evan scolds.
"Not really." Scott shrugs. He sounds nonchalant so he at least doesn't look bothered. "I used to try when I was younger, when I first started forgetting them. I kind of just… accept that this is how it is now?" He shrugs again, sipping his drink. Kitty can't imagine what that'd be like. The whole world just one shade of the same color, not even a color of her choosing but one that was thrust upon her. "I don't mind it as much anymore."
"But you used to?" Jean asks as she reenters, milk in hand. She places it down on the table and slides back into her seat, focus completely directed at Scott rather than the breakfast they'd made. None of them had eaten much quite yet. Kitty half-heartedly wonders if all the food was gonna get cold.
"Yeah, I used to." The confession slips so easily off Scott's tongue and it's amazing how open he seems about it despite how uncomfortable the revelation seemed to be. "It's not something I'm happy with per se but it's been like this for so long that I don't really mind most of the time."
"Except when ya grab the cream." Rogue teases, reaching out to start serving herself a helping of eggs and successfully breaking the weird tension that hung over them.
"Yeah, that," Scott agrees with a grateful smile, reaching over and grabbing a piece of bacon from the plate in front of Rogue.
Scott wakes up bleary-eyed and dehydrated at some obscene hour. He doesn't bother checking his clock, the time doesn't really matter. Instead, he throws off his covers and makes his way down to the kitchen to chug a few glasses of water. He shuffles quietly through the quiet mansion, feet clumsily dragging beneath him as he finally makes his way to the kitchen.
He dreads opening the fridge and the bright light inside that would greet him but he peels open the door anyway and squints against the sudden assault on his eyes. It takes a few blinks for his vision to focus and as he's reaching for the water pitcher something catches his eye. It's only because it's so bold and messy that he even notices in his current state but when he shifts his focus a loving warmth blooms quickly in his chest.
There stands what he can only assume to be a purple and white carton, where the label was worn off was written in scratchy, large handwriting: Heavy Cream.