strangetrip | [GP] Réveillon & New Year's Eve & Check-In

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[GP] Réveillon & New Year's Eve & Check-In

Emma had said, during Winter's Crest, that she missed a tradition from home called réveillon. She seemed also to miss her cousin, as Lillith missed hers. Since she wished both to learn to cook and to be of comfort to her friend, it had been decided they would make a réveillon dinner for New Year's Eve.

Yet when Emma began to lay out the courses -- oyster soup and potato & leek soup, salad, a gumbo, venison roast, cheeses, and creme brulee, plus several hors d'ouevres not yet decided -- Lillith quailed at the size of the undertaking. Surely she would wish someone to assist who could contribute more than roasted rabbit, wheat or potato flour dumplings, and koláč.

Since Sunny likewise missed her family and would certainly wish a distraction, when she entered the cafe where they were planning, the other two seized upon her almost at once. Sunny could hardly resist their dual entreaty, even had she wished to, and Lillith thought she seemed even more ready for company than previously. Of course Sunny had offerings of her own: jolloff rice, peppered chicken, and fried plantain.

Between they three, the planning and the cooking were very nearly merry, and Lillith kept them liberally supplied with champagne (her personal favorite), too. By late afternoon of the eve of the new year, they had begun lining tables with dishes, and enlisted the help of other friends to make the evening event widely known.

Of course, in addition to the réveillon feast that took over the steakhouse, alcohol flowed freely, lights sparkled brightly, the nightclub had music for dancing. And at some point the Inn or Caroline or Regina hung mistletoe from several of the primary entrances and exits so that unless one wished to or was unaware of the tradition, no one (not even any new arrivals) need greet the new year unkissed.

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Peter is excited about the prospect of any teaching at all. It's been weird not having classes every day, and he missed it. Especially since he'd poured over the books he had in his backpack when he showed up here about six times now, and he's pretty sure that when (he can't bring himself to use the if qualifier, no matter how long it's been) he gets back, he'll have a perfect score on the midterms and the finals.

"Y-yeah," Peter manages to stammer out, nodding. "I mean, if you think you don't mind it." A brief pause. "What kind of things do you think you could teach me? Or would want to teach me?"

"It's not harder teaching two people than one, and since I'm not using most of what I know, it's a good way to keep it fresh," she assured him.

Somewhere, she was pretty sure, Moonstar and the rest of the teaching staff at Xavier's were laughing at her. But Jean and the Professor always had said she was destined to teach.

"It's really more a question of what you want to learn. We can probably treat schooling here like college, since we've got people who can teach just about anything you might want to know. Or I can finish up your high school math and science curriculum, easy enough."

"No, no," Peter says shaking his head. "College is fine. I was taking college-level back at Midtown." And doing pretty well at it, too.

"I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I get back home and graduate high school," Peter admits. "I was thinking about biochemistry or biophysics, but I don't know if Liz would be interested in that stuff, so it's not something we need to study all the time. I like other stuff, too, like photography and filmmaking. But really, the only thing I have here for that kinda stuff is my cell phone."

Peter scratches at his elbow (this suit is really starchy), then looks around the room before setting his eyes back over at Kitty.

"Can I ask you something? About the whole superhero thing?"

And then once Kitty gives her affirmation, he continues:

"Is it really possible to be an adult superhero and have a regular job at the same time? I mean... Mr. Stark kinda does it, but I don't know enough about the private lives of the Avengers to really know if they really do anything else."

The Captain America promotional videos notwithstanding. Peter's pretty sure that's not really a real job for Mr. Rogers.

The quick change of subject surprised her, but Kitty was nothing if not flexible. She shifted gears, and positions, putting her back to the rest of the room. Her secret was still hers and for the most part, she kept it that way. Shadowcat wasn't out, even if Kitty's powers were known to more than a few people.

"I could tell you the comforting lie, say yes," Kitty began. "Some people have day jobs." She frowned and rubbed her thumb and forefinger over her eyebrows. "If you stick to one city, maybe you can find a balance. But if you're like me...if it's not a choice but who you are? No, not really. Even when you try, trouble finds you."

Thinking about what he wanted to study made him think about college. And thinking about college inevitably made him think about what he wanted to do after that. Peter'd been prepared to forgo school to be a superhero full-time, but after the confrontation with The Vulture, Peter was forced to reassess things, and decided going to high school and being a mostly-normal kid until he graduated probably wasn't that bad of an idea after all.

"After everything that happened with The Vulture, Mr. Stark had me come up to Avengers Tower and officially invited me to the Avengers."

A beat, and then:

"He was totally testing me, but I thought... you know, what if I actually do that? Become an actual Avenger instead of your Neighborhood Friendly Spider-Man?"

He swallows. "I had the same thought you did -- and it's great that someone who's been there, done that can confirm it for me. Maybe if I stick to Queens, I'll still be able to live a sort-of normal life on the side. But I mean... what if the world needs me? If I have powers, is it selfish to want to spend some of your life being normal?"

"I was trying, when I got sucked here," Kitty replied and for the first time that Peter had known her, certainly, she let some of her bitterness leech out.

"Going to university and living the life of a normal girl. Seeing a therapist like a normal girl. Mourning the death of my father and sixteen million Genoshans, most of them mutants, like a normal girl. Minding my own business, like a normal girl."

But there had never been anything normal about Kitty, not from the first time she slipped through her bed onto the kitchen table.

"And then a bunch of super-adapted Sentinels came after my best friend's baby sister and brother because they had the X-gene. They came after Xian. They came after Shola. Then they came after me.

"Is it selfish to want a normal life? No, Peter. It's not selfish. It's the least you deserve as a human being. It's just good fucking luck you ever getting it."

Kitty's confession hits Peter like Hulk's fist to his face. Which Peter has never experienced firsthand, thankfully, but which he imagines is just as painful.

Peter exhales and wishes his cup had some punch in it so he could do something to avoid having to fill in the ever-growing silence.

"Yeah," he says finally, instead. "Kinda makes you rethink going on that school field trip to the lab where you got bitten by a radioactive spider."

Kitty hadn't meant to direct her anger at him, just allow him to see it. But she was the adult here and she knew better.

"I'm sorry," she said gently, and reached out to give his shoulder a light squeeze. "I wish I could say I didn't mean it, but lying would be worse than the harshest truths. But you're here now and you have a chance to enjoy being normal for the time being. Maybe by the time we find our way out, we'll have learned to be better at it, so we can divide our time better."

"No," Peter says, shaking his head. "It's probably just better to know. I mean, all of the Avengers think that I'm just a kid." A beat. "Except maybe Mr. Stark. None of them will really talk to me about this kind of stuff. But you do. And I... I, uh... appreciate that."

Peter inhales, then shifts his gaze out to the party.

"Ms. Pr-- Kitty," he begins, catching himself. "If you could be like... like, a normal person, with no abilities or anything, and it meant that you could live a normal life -- would you, would you do it?"

"I think if you're old enough to risk your life to save the world, you're old enough to talk honestly about the consequences." Kitty frowned at the idea of the Avengers putting this young version of Peter to work without talking to him about the risks. Plus, it reminded her of how it had been for her. "I was the youngest on my team, growing up. So I know what it's like.

"But even then, I wouldn't have changed myself if I could have. I believe I am who I am for a reason." Semi-consciously, her hand stole to the Star of David around her neck and she murmured in a tone that sounded like recitation, "If I am not me, who will be?"

"I guess you're right." Peter more than guesses it. He knows she's right. "I mean, I know I haven't had my powers for all that long, but I can't really imagine my life without it. And I got to meet and help a lot of people because of them."

Peter swallows. "I know you're trying to teach me stuff like, in school, but... is there maybe some stuff you can teach me from your time in the X-Men that might help me if I actually go back and become an Avenger?"

"Other than fighting skills you mean?" Kitty pressed her lips together thoughtfully. Most of what she'd learned about being an X-man had come from experience. It wasn't the sort of thing that you could hand out in lectures. Not that she was unwilling, but she was going to have to think about how to go about.

"Yeah," Peter says. "I mean." He turns his hand in a circle in front of him, as if he's trying to draw the words out. "...like the kind of stuff you didn't realize you needed to know until you learned it. The stuff that you're like 'if I knew this, all of this would have been so much easier'. Just like. Life lessons or something."

"Maybe I could come up with ethics questions or essay topics that will help you think about what you'd do in difficult situations," Kitty mused. "If nothing else, we can talk whenever you have a question."

Peter nods. "Yeah, actually... either of those should work out fine."

A brief pause.

"I'm not really good at writing interesting essays, though," he confesses. "So please don't expect anything interesting."

"It's cool. The point's more what you think about than the actual writing." She heard most of her humanities-oriented friends rolling their eyes in another universe.

Kitty glanced around the party and then shook her head at both of them. "Enough teacher-student talk. Go enjoy the party. It's New Year's Eve."

"Y-yeah!" Peter says with a nod. "I think I will. I gotta find some more punch, anyway."

He holds up an empty red solo cup and gives it a little shake, and then offers Kitty a little awkward smile.

"It was good talking to you, Kitty."

"You, too." She gave him a warm, genuine smile. "Happy New Year."

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[GP] Réveillon & New Year's Eve & Check-In

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