A Thief in the Night

Very little from the girls' apartment had been salvageable. Kitty had owned a hope chest that had some linen in it and a few items that had belonged to her grandmother. These items were in fairly good condition, although the chest itself was badly cracked. Rogue found a few plastic storage tubs that had been in her closet and had held some of her personal effects. These had escaped reasonably intact. Neither girl shed a single tear during the entire day spent with the ruined remains of their brief home.


Warren had been present and, as always, gave off an aura of control and calm that helped the girls get through the day. Rogue had her list compiled first of her possessions. She hadn't been as much of a pack rat as Kitty and a lot of the furniture came from Kitty's house. Her parents had given them a lot of their old things to try and make the apartment more comfortable. She sat down with Warren's Insurance agent who was looking very harried, and went over the list with him. When they'd finally finished, he gave her a monetary figure that she would receive in the mail by the end of the week. As soon as he finished, she shook his hand and walked away with an odd feeling in her stomach.


The loss of property and near loss of lives had been so sudden and violent that she didn't have time to do anything more than react. She'd been going through the motions of her life for the past few days, and except for her time with Remy, she'd felt very little about Lance's attack. Now, in the privacy and seclusion of her own room and her own thoughts, she felt a stab of pain in her chest when she considered how easily her life would have been tossed away over some jealousy and hurt feelings. Not only Lance, but also Pietro. It more than irked her that the man could have so much twisted hatred of her that he'd hold her life in such a low regard. Then inn inside her grew as a twisted knot of fear snaked its way up her spine. On impulse, she got out of bed and pulled the curtains shut, then she turned the deadbolt on her door. If Remy could get into her room with so little effort, there was little doubt that Pietro could get to her if he really wanted to.


A week later, while Rogue was assisting Logan with some demonstrations in defensive arts class, Warren stopped into the Danger room. He waited patiently tihe dhe demonstration was over, mainly, waiting till Rogue was flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her. Logan grinned ferally and hauled her to her feet. He excused her to speak to the handsome blond man. Kitty stepped into the room a moment later.


"Hey." She said, winking at Warren. "I got the summons form the Professor. You wanted to see me?" He grinned back at her and touched her cheek briefly. Rogue joined them.


"What's up?" She asked. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a jovial way and led them back into the hallway.


"How would you two lovely ladies like to join me this afternoon and check out an apartment that has just been cleaned and readied for occupancy?" He smiled at the identical expressions of surprise and excitement on the young women's faces.


"It's ready?" Kitty asked. He nodded. They agreed to see the apartment as soon as they'd showered and changed.


Warren drove them into the city and to the building where he leased some apartments. He kept one there himself and split his time between the apartment and his family estate farther away.
The place he showed them was beautiful, with hardwood floors and open spaces. The kitchen had a large stainless steel refrigerator and freezer. There was a microwave and an oven built into the wall, and an island with a breakfast bar and stools in the middle. There were two bedrooms, each had large windows and closets and plenty of light. The walls were painted a soft, creamy white. He told them they could repaint if they wished, but his rule was that it would need to be left the way it was when they moved in. In one corner of the apartment, hidden behind a discreet wooden door, was a small laundry room with a brand-new stacked washer/dryer.


"This is actually Xavier's gift to you guys." Warren said. "He said it was practical and necessary, and he was veroud oud of the way you handled yourselves when things got hairy." Kitty almost broke down into tears. She shouldn't be this happy about losing her apartment.


There was ample security in the building, and a doorman who was alert and helpful. There was a cleaning service that was employed by the building, and they could be hired to do housekeeping in the apartments if the tenants wished, but it was not necessary. Kitty nearly cried when she saw the bathroom. It was painted a shade of blue that was so pale it would have looked white if the sink and tub weren't white already. There was a glassed-in shower next to the tub and the fixtures were silver. The large mirror on the sink and vanity was surrounded by soft white light bulbs. Such a beautiful room mesmerized both Kitty and Rogue.


"Warren." Kitty said, turning to him with a slight frown marring her forehead. "You can't possibly mean to lease us this apartment for such low rent." Rogue nodded in regretful agreement.
"You've more than made up for a problem that you didn't cause." She added. "We wouldn't feel right paying you so little for a place like this that goes for simes mes that amount." Warren smiled at both of them and sat on the edge of the tub. It was on a raised platform so he didn't have far to bend.


"Let me explain a few things to you ladies." He said. "You will spend most, if not all, of your adult life hiding who you are from people. I have a mutation that's tougher to hide than most people so trust me on this. If you continue on the path you're following now, you'll be willingly going into dangerous situations to help people who hate and fear you." When they began to protest he held up his hand. "I know that Xavier has given you all his speech a dozen times, and I know you've weathered some pretty bad storms out there, but things are only going to get worse." His words sobered them. "Life isn't fair. It never was. There's a good chance that a lot of us may not live to a ripe old age, and you will lose friends and loved ones along the way. Let me do this. It isn't charity, it's the least I can do." They both nodded silently before he added, "And besides, Jean and Scott are taking over the boathouse at Xavier's so its this or you're stuck back in your old rooms again." He grinned and they laughed.


The lease was signed, and during the next week, Rogue and Kitty spent all of their time, outside of the classes they taught, arguing over furniture ideas and arranging delivery schedules. In the end, they agreed that while each woman was entitled to her own unique style in her room, they would retain the contemporary class of the apartment and design accordingly. They bought large, fluffy towels for the bathroom in two shades of blue, both darker than the walls, but with the same tone. Rogue went for a similar look in her new room that she'd had in the previous one. Kitty decided on some items that were still romantic, like a curtained bed like she'd had before; but chose to stick with basic white in most of the furnishings. She added splashes of color here and there with purple and red decorative pillows and matching chenille throw blankets.


The girls had a house-warming party and invited their friends and family from the mansion. Everyone came, even Logan, who spent most of the evening looking at the door or out the window. Warren gave them a Waterford Vase with a dozen white roses in it as a gift, and Amara swore that she was going to visit all the time. Kitty's parents gave her their old car for her commute, and told her that they were proud of her. Rogue felt a tiny twinge of loneliness inside that Kurt tried to quell by giving her a hug and telling her that he'd be around for her as much as for his girlfriend. Logan pulled her aside to tell her that he was leaving.


"You can't stay?" She asked.


"You know, me and parties, honey." He growled, looking uncomfortable. "But it is a pretty nice place, and I wanted to give you this." He handed her a small box with a ribbon on it. Inside was a lovely silk scarf that was a dark, jeweled red. She draped it around her neck eagerly.


"Ah love it. Thank you." She aimeaimed. He lifted one end and placed it under her bare palm. Then, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand through the soft fabric.


"I always knew you'd grow up to be quite a lady." He said softly. "I'm just glad I was around to see it. He winked at her and made his escape, stopping briefly to kiss Kitty on the cheek and fend off Kurt's feigned jealous advances.