xp_logs | Her old stomping grounds... (Reply)

After desert Kitty had begged off returning to the hotel with the others, grabbing Jamie's hand and telling Ali she wanted to show Jamie around some of her old haunts - promising they wouldn't stay out too late and that she still remembered the area well enough to not get lost.

Now the two of them were wandering through Grant Park, vaguely moving in the direction of Buckingham Fountain.

Jamie was content to just walk along, enjoying the view. Sometimes he even looked at the park.

"How long has it been since you've been back?" he asked, and grinned. "I can just see you running around here in pigtails."

"Well, it's been a while," Kitty said. "Couple years since I've been here for any length of tiem, anyways. And no, no pigtails. Was always more a braid girl."

"Ah. I'll update my mental image. Still cute. Is it much different than you remember?"

"Shorter," Kitty said, idly. "Or, well, I'm taller. It's strange. Chicago used to seem like the whole world - be all and end all of everything. Now..." She shrugged. "New York is bigger, if not nicer, and the whole world is available, really."

Jamie smiled. "New York always seems cramped to me. Any city, really. There's all those people--which is good in a lot of ways, don't get me wrong--and buildings everywhere. There's a lot less stuff to _do_ at the farm, but the sky . . . the sky just goes on forever."

Kitty's hand squeezed Jamie's gently. "Yeah, I know what you mean. My dad used to take me for drives when I was little - visiting family or whatever - and after an hour or so, Chicago just sort of drops down into the horizon like it never existed. But when you come back... rises up out of nothing, like, oh, I don't know..."

"Like a whale coming up for air," Jamie suggested. "And possibly to eat any insect-chaperoned puppets that happen to be wandering by."

Kitty laughed. "No, more like Jacob's ladder, reaching up into the sky towards God. Or maybe the tower of Babel - a foolish, doomed endevour that is still magestic in it's attempt."

"Kind of a gloomy thought, that. I like to think we'll get it better this time."

Kitty nodded. "Oh, I'm sure we will." Glancing ahead, she suddenly grinned. "Oh, the fountain!"

"Oh, wow . . . now _that_ is seriously cool." Jamie slipped an arm around Kitty's waist as he admired the dancing water, colored lights striking sparks off the spray. "Just beautiful."

Leaning against him, Kitty smiled. "Isn't it? I've always loved this park."

"I'm glad you brought me. As long as we don't run into any of the neighborhood boys who used to have giant crushes on you. They probably grew up to be football players."

Kitty laughed. "To the best of my knowledge there weren't any, but I promise not to let any of them get you if there were."

"I bet there were some. I refuse to believe my gender is that dumb. _Somebody_ else has to have noticed you. They just must've been too intimidated to say anything."

Kitty shrugged faintly. "I don't know. I wasn't real popular with my peer group before I came to Xavier's."

"Your peer group's loss." He kissed her on the cheek. "Because you're wonderful, and sometimes I worry you don't believe that enough."

Kitty turned in his arms, sliding her arms around his neck. "I almost believe it when you say it," she said, reaching up to kiss him.

He kissed back as thoroughly as he knew how. "Believe it," he breathed after coming up for air. "There's nobody else like you."

"Mmm," Kitty nodded slightly, smiling. "At least it means I won't get in trouble for copyright infringment." She kissed him again before he could answer, holding him tightly.

"No," Jamie finally said, "that's my job. Also, wow, we're getting good at that."

She half purrs against him. "Yes, yes we are." Sighing, she pulled away slightly. "But we should probably get back..."

"I guess we should. We can take our time, though . . ."

Kitty nodded, leaning forward to kiss him again. "Sounds like a plan."