InsaneJournal

It was weird being older than Rogue. Rogue had a few years on Kitty back where she was from, and here, Rogue was a lot younger. It made Kitty feel oddly protective. Maybe that was the headmistress and teacher part of her. Or maybe the part of her that remembered when she wasn’t jaded.

“We can’t fudge your ID here, so the distillery is out of the question.” The heat wasn’t as bad as she’d expected, and for off-duty wear she’d grabbed a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting top.

Besides the racing, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to see. It wasn’t her first time on an alien planet, but usually she was trying not to die. “.... now that we’re here I have no idea what I want to do first.”

“Well you know, Ah told them Ah was 19, so it ain’t like it’s all that easy for them to question, right?” Rogue had gone with a short sleeved shirt and pants, but underneath she wore the power dampening skin-tight suit that B’elanna had fixed for her. It felt weird to be able to wear it again, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Letting out a laugh at Kitty’s words, she shaded her eyes and glanced around, then shot her a grin. “What about the shops? Or that casino?”

"Then pretend I said nothing about your age," Kitty replied, turning towards her with a wide, delighted grin, hands behind her head. "We could poke at probability and win some money for the shops. I've got a salary thanks to being on the crew, too."

She wondered if she could cheat with her powers. The Enterprise was pretty well shielded, but maybe the machines weren't. She preferred table games, though.

“Now you’re catchin’ on, shugah,” Her Mississippi drawl was heavy, especially now that she relaxed, and she particularly perked up when Kitty said she had money they could use.

“Ah was in Vegas before Ah showed up on the ship, so Ah know a thing or two about winnin’ money also. We could make a killin’ in a place like this.”

"We should watch for a bit, learn how their games works." But gambling was still a lot of math and some luck. It was just a matter of learning the base rules for games. She wondered if it would be like anything on Earth, or entirely alien.

"And try not to look like we're cheating."

“Good idea. Ah’m guessin’ we ain’t gonna find blackjack and roulette, right?” Absently, the younger mutant pushed her hair back from her face and walked along with Kitty, heading towards the casino they’d heard about. She was getting along surprisingly well, but she figured that was inevitable since she herself had pretty much moved on from Bobby...and this Kitty was a lot older than her now.

“Ah never look like Ah’m cheating,” Rogue replied with a cheeky smile.

"Man, I love blackjack," Kitty shoved her hands in her pockets as they approached the casino. "I'm not surprised. You've got this look to you." She pulled her hands out and made a motion like her name was in lights. "Innocent, nothing to see here, no shenanigans, not even a little!"

Rogue smiled broadly at that and gave Kitty a thumbs up, then let the smile fade. She took on the look of someone much shyer, eyes going wide and steps a little hesitant, appearing to be in awe of the place in general. After they showed their IDs, had them scanned, and went in, she kept up the look.

Two hours later, they walked back out, and Rogue was grinning as she dropped the innocent facade, and gave a light bow to Kitty. “Way t’go! Knew we’d get outta there richer than we walked in.” Which, sure, it wasn’t a lot richer, but still. Remy always said any dollar you had that was more than you walked in with counted.

"The exchange rate is honestly kind of hilarious," Kitty admitted. "But we can go on a shopping spree and eat wherever we want! I think I'll give whatever's left over to someone who needs it. Or a charity. Do you think they do charities here?"

She grinned at Rogue. "You've got a really slick wrist, though."

“They should, they’ve got charities everywhere,” Rogue commented, then gave a modest curtsy this time, laughing as she did. “Spent the last few months with a guy who taught me a lot,” she said, though she tried to keep it casual and not think about how much she missed Gambit right then.

“Now for th’ most important question: think they got somethin’ like chocolate here?”

Kitty could guess which guy Rogue was talking about, but thought it might be a sore subject, so she didn't bring it up. She wondered how Rogue would react if Remy did show up, and wasn't her Remy? She might need drinks.

"Lets find out." She pulled out her PADD and looked through a directory. "There's a candy shop the next block over. We could start there!"

“Sounds good t’ me. Maybe they’ll even have somethin’ better - like ice cream, instead of that stuff on the ship. Just don’t taste right, y’ know?” Rogue absently slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket and started to head down the street with Kitty. If anyone had told her a few months ago she’d be getting along with the X-Man, she would have laughed in their face. But at least here was someone she sort of knew. That counted for something.

"You're saying the replicated ice cream doesn't taste like real ice cream?" Kitty asked, raising her eyebrow. Rogue was right but Starfleet would argue the point.

Though it made her wonder about other things, like if replicated meals could be considered kosher or not.

"Do you think ice cream might be a universal constant?" She'd never been particularly close to Rogue, but they'd always been friendly. She had a great deal of respect for what the woman had gone through and was capable of.

“There’s this odd aftertaste, that throws it off for me.” Rogue gave a shrug, glancing around them as they walked. The aliens were different, of course, but some weren’t any stranger than mutants so she didn’t stare at them all that long.

“Ah hope it is. Something sweet and cold - and we’re on a desert planet, so it’d just make sense that there’s somethin’ at least a little bit like that here, right?” She looked over at Kitty. “What do y’think?

"Maybe the programmers have never actually tasted ice cream," Kitty suggested. Like it was confirmation bias, or they just kept tasting the replicated stuff and not the real stuff.

"I think we should go in and find out. I've never had alien ice cream. I wonder if the Vulcans have that kind of thing. They're typically vegetarians so I don't know how they'd view dairy."

“That could be it,” the younger mutant said with a shake of her head. Imagine, never having ice cream.

“Which ones are the Vulcans again?” Rogue asked that over her shoulder as she pushed open the door and stepped into the candy shop, glancing around curiously. It was a little crowded, and she automatically stepped to one side so that she didn’t bump into anyone by accident, a product of living with her powers.

“Pointy eared ones.” Kitty held her fingers up to her ears. “Commander Spock is one.”

Someone nearly bumped into her and she phased, but it happened so suddenly she didn’t think anyone noticed. At least she hoped no one would notice. Some things didn’t need to be explained.

“It sure smells like a candy shop.” There was almost a sharp tanginess to the smell. Like the sweets had a bit of a heat to them. Kitty was perfectly okay with that.

“Oh...th’one that never smiles.” Rogue nodded sagely, then grinned at Kitty’s words about the smell. “Makes me think of Mexican candy, a little,” she said. “Not bad at all.” Wandering down the aisle, Rogue poked at a couple of the bins, checking things out, then stopped at one that was full of some sort of yellow hard candy that had a touch of red at the top. Opening it, she sniffed, then grinned.

“Hey Kitty, get over here. Let’s get this one.”

"What's it smell like?" Kitty had grabbed a bag of something green with swirls. She'd come to the conclusion that she was going to try every alien green thing she came across. She didn't know why, only that it seemed an appropriate goal in the future.

She bounced over, leaning over to sniff it.

“Kinda like watermelon and cinnamon,” she replied, grabbing a bag and scooping several pieces into it. “Weird smell but it sorta works?” Not that it really would have stopped her at any point.

After handing the bag to Kitty, she moved on to see what else there was, drifting towards the counter in search of an ice cream equivalent.

"I'm going to need a bag of this stuff," Kitty agreed. It was a combination that sounded good and was still a little unusual. "I'm not going to ask what's in it. As long as humans are able to digest it that's good enough for me."

She followed along with Rogue, content to let the younger woman pick and choose. Despite the alien landscape and the non-human people, it felt blissfully normal.

Rogue snagged a few other things along the way, also struck by how normal this all seemed. And since they were surrounded by alien lifeforms, they didn’t really stick out as mutants for once. Even the streak of white in her hair barely got a second look from anyone. Finally, she stopped at the counter itself and spent several minutes trying to describe ice cream, before she was handed a sample of something.

After a shrug at Kitty, Rogue put it in her mouth. It was hard on the outside, kind of like an M&M, but once she bit through the outer shell, her mouth filled with a creamy cool treat, almost exactly like ice cream, and her eyes lit up. “Mmm. Mmf ud,” she said, giving the other mutant an enthusiastic thumb up.

It was really nice to just fit in. Though Kitty had always been able to pass if she needed to, she’d never really wanted to. But there was a difference between hiding, and knowing that no one would really look at you different even if they knew.

Once Rogue hadn’t died, Kitty took one as well. It was just the right kind of chilled, and the right kind of sweet and her eyes fluttered. “Oh my god, I’ll take ten.”

Reluctantly, Rogue swallowed, then grinned. “Make it twenty,” she told the Fornaxian behind the counter, then leaned against it as she waited for things to be bagged. Looking over at Kitty, she smiled.

“Think we did enough damage here? We should hit up some clothing shop somewhere.”

"It's so good."

The teller gave them the Fornaxian equivalent of a smile - they didn't bare their teeth - and Kitty paid. She also left a bit of a tip. She figured the local businesses were pretty happy to have a starship in orbit. Big boost in business.

"It would be kind of cool to pick up some Fornaxian fashion," Kitty agreed. Not that she was the most fashionable conscious person, but clothing that was designed for desert wear would probably come in handy in the future.

Rogue helpfully picked up one of the bags, then walked out of the store. “Yeah - they’ve got these wrap things they wear that could be cool, right?” And Rogue was all for things that helped someone like her cover up when she wanted, which was pretty usual around people who weren’t Remy.

“How long are we allowed to stay down here again?”

“I think the shuttle leaves…” Kitty checked the time. “We’ve got another three hours, unless we want to pick a place to stay over night.”

That wasn’t too appealing to her, though. She wondered how fox-like people even slept.

“They should have wraps, and like loose pants. Like back on Earth a lot of desert cultures have similar outfits. It just protects from heat and sun and sand the best.”

“Three hours to kill. That should be enough time, Ah think,” she said with a smile. “I’m up for gettin’ whatever they’ve got to sell, so long as the money holds out.” Reaching into her bag, she pulled out another one of the ice-cream like treats and slipped it into her mouth to enjoy as they walked through the stalls.

Kitty checked her funds. “I think this’ll hold out for awhile. As long as we don’t buy the Fornaxian version of Gucci.”

The little treats were delicious, and she might pay for it later somehow, but for now she was content to relive when she was younger and without responsibilities. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d just gone shopping. “Too bad we won’t be here longer.”

“We’d probably get sick of sun and sand if we were here too much longer,” Rogue pointed out. As it was, she was shading her eyes and wishing she had some kind of hat or sunglasses. “Maybe we should see if there’s another place we could go into for a bit, and maybe try some stuff on?”

“Who’d ever get sick of the sun?” Sand maybe, but not the sun.” Kitty shielded her eyes as well, looking around. “How about over there? Lots of clothing, and they have benches in the shade. We could rest for a bit with our purchases!”

“It can get a bit much, you know that,” she said and stuck her tongue out at Kitty, then followed her gaze to the shaded area. “Yeah, that works. Let’s go.” Rogue smiled and dropped her hand, starting off across the road to head in that direction, still careful not to bump anyone if she could help it.

Three hours before they had to go back to the ship. Kitty almost didn't want to go, but she thought eventually she'd want to be back on board. Especially for the next time the Enterprise found a planet.

She wondered if it would be one she'd seen on Tv. Which made her wonder if there was some universe where the X-men were a tv show.

"Dibs on anything in blue!"