Work Text:
Dreams Change
by Pirate Turner
A heavy sigh emitted from soft lips as brown eyes stayed focused on the computer's monitor. Although this was the third time she had attempted to log on, it was not the constant busy signals that had her depressed. Compassionate eyes watched her from her bed as she muttered, "Finally," and began to open her mail program. She had been like this for well over a month now, and he was extremely worried about her. He watched as she waited for her mail to load. As her mail slowly began to come in, one Subject heading in particular caught her attention. It was entitled simply "Kitty".
She clicked on it, and as she waited for the E-mail to load, her brown eyes flitted over to the sender's address. Her eyes grew, and with their shocked expression, his concern for her also grew. The sender's address appeared quite simple. Indeed, it was only "Brit" with a string of numbers behind it. Those numbers were not just any numbers to its receiver, however. Kitty's heart began to pound madly in her chest as she stared at the numbers or, as she recognized them to be, the date that she had first met Pete Wisdom.
The body of the E-mail finally loaded, and her eyes moved to hurriedly read the letter. Her heartbeat grew faster at each new word. Her lips moved in a flurry as she whispered the letter out loud, almost as if to assure herself that she was truly reading the information and not merely dreaming again, "Dearest Bacall, I just wanted you to know that I'm okay. I can't come to see you, but I'm okay. I've been keeping an eye on you, kid, and I know what you're doing with yourself. I also know that there's no way in Hell that you're happy doing what you're doing. We both know that it's not what you were meant to do. Don't worry about me and don't look for me, but get yourself back to the Rat Pack."
Kitty's forehead creased with confusion. Was that really Pete or was it just some E-mail sent by one of her numerous enemies to confuse and torment her? She knew he liked Bogie, but why in the world would he use role playing for a form of code? The letter was signed simply "Bogie". She was just about to turn away from the monitor in complete confusion when the last few lines of the E-mail, tinier than all the rest, caught her eye.
Despite her contacts, she had to nearly press her face to the monitor to make out the tiny lettering. "Tell the flying rat that he better be taking damn good care of you." "Oh my God," Kitty whispered as the realization set in. Her head turned slowly, and her eyes met the eyes of her beloved pet. "He did use to call you that," she said slowly. "Dear God," she breathed, staring at her dragon in shock yet not truly seeing him, "he is alive. Pete's alive. He must be in some kind of trouble. That's why he went underground. Oh my God."
A gentle voice suddenly sounded from her elbow. "'E's right, yoo know."
Kitty's head whirled around, and for the second time that night, she could not believe her eyes. "'Heed?" she asked in shock. A quick glance back at the bed affirmed that he was indeed who had spoken to her. When she looked back at him, however, she could not help being somewhat angry with him. "You can talk! How could you have kept that from me?!"
Lockheed lowered his head in shame, and his pointed tail wrapped underneath him. "I was afraid," he admitted in a hushed voice.
"Afraid of what?" Kitty asked, her anger instantly vanishing at the sight of his almost cowering form. She reached out a hand and gently stroked his head. "'Heed, you've got to know that I would never do anything to hurt you!"
At those words, Lockheed immediately looked back up at his beloved best friend. "I know," he quickly assured her. "It's just . . . Kitty, yoo've always told me everything. Some things some guy should never know, an' . . . I am male. I don' want that to change."
"'Heed, you might be a male, but that doesn't mean your being able to talk is going to change anything like that. I'll never stop confiding in you," she continued to reassure him, gently rubbing his eager head as she did so. "It'll only change one thing."
"What that?" he asked, looking up into his mistress' eyes.
"Now you can actually talk back to me," she told him. "You can share with me just like I've always shared with you, and you can actually answer at least some of my questions."
"About that," he said slowly, his eyes searching hers as he rubbed his head against her hand.
"What's on your mind?" she asked, amazed that she finally could ask him a question and actually get an answer in English.
"I know yoo not happy. Yoo not happy since leave X-Men. Kitty . . . Dreams change. Yoo need . . . should be happy. Go back. Just take me wit' yoo."
Kitty's eyes shone with unshed tears. She knew that they were right, and with both her men telling her what her heart had been trying to ever since she had made the decision to go to college, she could no longer deny the truth. "I will," she said, "and there's absolutely no way you're going anywhere but with me." She lowered her face towards his, and he butted her face. He rubbed his cheek against hers, and she continued to scratch him gently. A loud purr echoed through their room. After a few minutes, Kitty reluctantly pulled away as she reached over with her free hand and picked up her telephone. She dialed a number and then brought it to her ear. She waited, and when a familiar, assuring voice finally answered on the other end of the line, she said simply, "Professor Xavier, I'm ready to come home."
The End