247/And I Think Doug Can Even Speak Demon

And I Think Doug Can Even Speak Demon
Date of Scene:	03 March 2020
Location:	Sailor Pub and Bar
Synopsis:	Roberto enlists Kitty's aid in setting up a couple of their friends.
Cast of Characters:	Roberto da Costa, Kitty Pryde, Douglas Ramsey, Illyana Rasputina

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Roberto da Costa has posed:
Let it never be said that Roberto da Costa doesn't do anything nice for anyone, upon hearing Doug was thinking about asking out Illyana, Roberto had, the next morning jumped into action, tracking down Kitty, and suggesting she used her friend status with Illyana to give Doug a helping hand, an oh, hey, maybe suggest a double date or something to make everyone more comfortable. And also hey, he happened to be free later.

Fast forward several hours and a ride in Roberto's Maserati later, the crew arrives at the agreed upon establishment, Sailor's Pub and Bar in Mutant Town. Needless to say it wasn't Roberto's first choice but, he could make due for the sake of a friend (or frenemy).

Roberto is, of course, dressed well but took the time to scale it to the rest of the group, and when they hit the curb outside the pub he offers Kitty his arm on the way to the door. "So, we're sure this is the spot we want?" he asks for the 30th time tonight. Okay maybe making due was more of a strain than he thought.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
As it turned out, Roberto was doing Kitty a favor as well. She'd been putting her best face on for people. But actually getting to do something like this for two of her best friends? Those smiles weren't so forced in the day or two leading up to it, when she'd been casually dropping comments about Doug's virtues.

Kitty dressed up for the evening, a pair of dark pants and a black fitted blouse. She's left her hair down for a change to hang about her shoulders. It's probably longer than most people think given it's always in a ponytail.

Kitty climbs out of the car, taking Roberto's arm with a smile towards him. "It's a good pub, surprisingly good food and I like throwing a little business this way," she says of Mutant Town. "Plus if we want to go dancing, the club isn't too far away."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug's response was 'wait, what' followed by 'Are you using this as an in to go out with-' followed by 'Wait, *what*'

'Well I don't - okay?' He has a look on his face that says 'I think I'm on crazy pills'

And yet here he is in the back of a ridiculously expensive car with his hair did and his best ironic t-shirt looking vaguely like he's standing in front of Roberto's car instead of standing in the back of it. For some reason the mirror in his room was busted and when Illyana got brought up Doug got real *pink*. That's a long story.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
At least it's a Maserati. They have seating for more than two, otherwise somehow trying to phase Kitty sideways and having Illyana portal-shotgun it would be a very inauspicious beginning. Or would it?

It turns out the Demon Queen being free is a rare conjunction of the spheres. General scarcity and the shadows in her arctic-pale eyes darkening them to an actual normal blue being good reasons why. Still, given the opportunity by Kitty (and because a Kitty-smile is worth more than all the Tsar's lost Faberge collection to her), she tries harder than the baseline effort of simply appearing. Black and white Breton-striped attire made unnaturally chic, her hair actually worn in something like a stylish pile of waves that's probably proof this is in fact a demonic alter-ego who knows fashion cues. Nautical fashion cues! In a mini-dress that's a statement of impact. She waits until the others are all out of the car before negotiation one of those strange dip-spins that puts her properly straight and upright, back to the vehicle, in a way that only comes with swordplay. Lots and lots of swordplay. (Or a mirror-reflective brother with conservative Russian values.)

"Designated evacuation lead," she says in that clipped Russian accent. That's probably explanation to drink freely. Does she even get a buzz from liquor?

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Whatever Roberto's motives, and this is Roberto, he probably has five or six, Doug's reaction made the whole trip worthwhile. A reaction to which, Roberto would have replied: "Trust me, got your back," while smiling in a way that would make someone doubt that.

Fastforward to being outside the pub, with thankfully no portal shotgun-phasing required, or sadly, either or, but this was why Roberto had bought a four seater, nights like this.

Leading his way inside, he says, "Didn't think about the club, between that and your recomendation, gata, I think I'll stop whining now." He holds the door for the others, saying, letting them pick the table and whatnot. "So, does that mean free fire on the booze?" he asks Illy.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
When Illyana climbs out of the car, looking like three million bucks, the Russian earns one of those big Kitty-smiles from the Jewish girl. "You're knocking it out of the park tonight," Kitty whispers, along with a quick grin, as Roberto walks her past and over to the door to the pub. "Oh but you whine so beautifully. It's the accent," Kitty responds to Roberto before they go inside.

The place has a few people in it, some eating and some drinking. The nautical theme is apparent but tries to stop just short of being utterly kitschy. With varied amounts of success depending on the viewer.

Kitty motions towards a table that is near to a dance area and has plenty of leg room. "They have a pretty good jukebox as I recall, though granted, I haven't been here since I left for the UK," she says. Kitty glances to Doug and flashes him a quick smile. "And... oh I can't remember which sandwich I liked. Maybe when I see the menu?"

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"It was the pastrami with the pickled radishes and house mustard." Doug says, his eye on Illyana. He feels a little underdressed, in his chelsea boots and his 'T-FLEX' t-shirt. He pushes his glasses - he doesn't need them, they're a neat little widget that lets him surf the internet using movements of his eyes - up on the bridge of his nose.

"You look..." He says, "...pravda krasivyy." He beams, briefly, perhaps more than a little surprised to be in these circumstances.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
By default, she is Russian and Rasputin's great-granddaughter. Illyana's alcoholic intake probably reaches unnatural levels before hitting a buzz. Life can (and does) make life more difficult for her. She doesn't tug down on the sleek black skirt breaking into a daringly high white hem, despite the clear urge to occasionally tug provoked by the audacious act of taking a step close to her usual meter-long pace. "I know a person. An absolute fiend with finding clothes," she says in that low aside to Kitty. Doing it deadpan makes this sound like she committed a crime on another continent, or at least authorized it. Finding her way after Kitty and Berto comes easily.

That means the omniglot has to decipher the Gordian knot that is the sorceress and /she/ has the sword. <<Thank you.>> Manners. Somewhere Piotr is grimly nodding. A nod for Doug, and she glances around the desolate club. People and music drilling through the speakers speak another form of language altogether. "Where do we start? Clearing out the skeletons in the cellar?"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto, grins at Kitty's reply. "Wait, I speak with an accent?" he asks feining surprise with a wink for his date.

Having scoped out what Doug was wearing, Roberto opted for something similar, a wide neck retro Beastie Boys t-shirt with a green army style jacke thrown over top, a pair of jeans and a pair of the new pine green Jordans.

When Kitty picks out the table, Roberto pulls out her chair before grabbing a seat for himself, glancing over at the Jukebox, "Wanna pick something for us?" he asks Kitty.

Though Illyana's question brings a smirk to Roberto's lips. "I'm game, but lemme order a round for us first, what are we drinking?" he asks the table.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty takes the offered seat with a grateful smile for Roberto. "Either you do, or the rest of us do. I'm not going to quibble if you say it's the latter," she tells him. The young woman smiles as she glances over, listening to the interaction between Doug and Illyana. Her own Russian is not nearly as good, but more than enough in this case.

Kitty laughs and looks around the place after Illyana's comment. "Hopefully they don't have any. It really is a good ole fashioned American pub if you ask me." Granted she's not old enough to drink in the States. Though probably has a fake ID like half of the eighteen year olds in New York.

At the mention of music, Kitty grins and says, "Oh yes. Though I'll save the great dance tunes for later," she says, hopping up and giving Roberto's shoulder a touch on the way past as she heads over the jukebox.

Unfortunately, someone else beats her to it. He runs his credit card through the reader and then enters a few songs while Kitty waits. "Don't you just love Journey?" he asks, glancing back at Kitty. Kitty smiles to him. "Oh yeah, more than anything!" she says energetically, making the man happy as he walks back to the bar. Which hopefully is true, as there's a string of Journey songs in their future. Kitty gets to the machine finally and enters some music, but it'll be a little while getting around to it.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"They always play Don't Stop Believin' and 'Any Way You Want It' and 'Wheel in the Sky' but 'Stone In Love' actually IS a great song..." Doug says, with his hand on his chin. He glances up and says, "...Ginger ale?" Mr. Excitement, Mr. Danger over here, ordering a ginger ale.

Then he glances up at Illyana and gives her a little smile, tilting his head at the first song that the guy actually picked. "...Hey. That's 'After the Fall'. Another great song. ...Wanna dance while we wait for our drinks?"

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
"Vieux Carre. Failing that, Negroni. Easy to make, hard to perfect." On matters of liquor and mixing cocktails, Illyana supplies a rather classic pair of options that involve nothing pink, mint flavoured, or abundantly fruity. Her loose bangs fall into her face, guided over her shoulders in a loose, lazy sway for no reason controllable. For the moment, she triangulates off of Roberto and Doug with an uncanny sense of angles probably pinging on the latter's odd sense of life, a point of near perfect mathematical precision most of the time. As it comes to angles, she is literally putting herself in defensive striking distance of the pair of them. Casual, huh?

Watching Kitty approach the jukebox with a vengeance, she purposefully glares daggers into the back of Mr Journey. Is it a good idea to pull out quoggy American rock from an era predating their birth? At least it's quasi-danceable, as guitars feature somewhere in the back there. Doug's explanation jars her out of plotting demises, or trying to place the songs. "Is it?" Ooh, musical neophyte alert!

Nonetheless, her eagle-eyed sentry duty lasts a few seconds before the jukebox fails to materialize someone with a red diamond on their head or a giant slavering maw to eat the unsuspecting. All's fair in love and war. "We can. Over there?" She points to a corner of the dance floor. It beats being on the rafters where another mutant is busy swaying, happily inverted, like a bat.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Totally you guys," Berto says with a grin to the table about his accent."I mean I'm perfect right?" he says with obvious self-awareness there.

As to the drinks, Roberto looks at Doug, "Right, do gingerale and..." a long beat. "Okay, no and, gotcha," he says, before looking to Kitty for hers and hitting the bar to place their orders, or *ahem* Thomas Magum, twenty-three year old resident of Hawaii does, before coming back to the table as 'After the Fall' starts to play and Illyana takes Doug up on the offer to dance.

He can't help but throw, an 'aww' sort of look to Kitty from the sidelines before he offers her his hand, "Wanna join them, gata?" he asks.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty goes for a simple margarita, with salt when Roberto asks for the orders. She grins as Doug likes the music being played. "Believe me, there's worse in there," she says of the jukebox. "Definitely you guys go get after it," she says to her two besties as they decide to go dancing.

Kitty turns back to Roberto, flashing him a grin at his modesty. "Uh oh, you make mention of being perfect and ask me to dance. You know I'm going to put you to the test on that, right?" says the young woman who as a girl was aiming for a professional dance career. Before getting nearly killed by supervillains was offered as an alternate career path.

Really, what /was/ she thinking. Kitty rises, sliding her chair in with a foot, and reaches over to offer Roberto her hand. "Let's do it," she agrees with a smile.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
He's many things, but a big drinker, Doug is not. "He even has the moustache on the ID." Doug says to Illyana, before he takes her hand and leads her out onto the dance floor. He glances at Roberto and Kitty, and back at Illyana, and mouths 'Can you believe that?' at her before he crosses his eyes.

"I mean Journey's OK but I really dig more of the 80s punk and post-punk new wave stuff, Blondie really said a lot about the existential yearning for deeper meaning that came out of the shallowness of 70s disco and the emptiness of the lives of urbanites-- though I'm all about the Boss. Springsteen speaks to me, you know?" He gamely takes hold of Illyana's hand as he dances.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Illyana's doctored identification is more than sufficient to demonstrate she has the reason and wit to drink on her own. But Thomas Magnum has it all under control, so let him cover the tab and the glance under a blacklight pen or whatever fancy gadgets they have on hand. Her fingers slink down the line of the coat covering over her shoulders, adjusting it to fit over the dress without threatening to slither right off, a black banner of piracy and anti-surrender. Then Doug pulls her away from the sidelines and into the middle of it all, where neither protection in the masses or the landscape spares either of them from the glare of the gossips' tongues, the headlight-stares of the incurious bystanders. Hunters hunt.

Soon as Kitty takes the floor, she and Berto can shine in the limelight. "Mustaches are too telling," she murmurs in reply. But musical tastes can only go so far. She gives Doug a briefly quizzical look. "A boss? Who is that?" Cool fingers find their placement uneasily; it's just not a practiced gesture with her, though Doug is hardly at fault for that. Trying to tame a seething whirlwind is one thing, trying to gather a winter blizzard in full force, quite another. To her credit, she tries. "Blondie I know. Grittier there. Harder. She had good style. Maybe would have kicked someone for being a fool."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto adds that margarita to the order, with a nod, "Solid choice," he says then vanishes and returns after placing the order.

As for dancing, Roberto may have forgotten the professional dancer part of Kitty's origin story and may be setting himself up to be what was the word, served? Do people still say that? Anyhow, he's blissfully unaware when he takes her hand and leads her to the dance floor, though 'After the Fall's got a slower tempo and Berto is more than capable of slow dancing, he keeps hold of Kitty's hand if she lets him and puts the other on her hip as they sway to the music.

He tosses the glance to the other couple, and leans in to whisper to Kitty. "Thanks for making this work," he says to her. "I owe you big time, whatever you want," he says before spinning her out and bringing her back in again as the tempo picks up just a bit. Again, as long as she goes for it.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug seems to know where to put his feet pretty well, actually! He lets go of Illyana's hand long enough to put a little hip action into it, reeling himself out, before he reels himself back in, and winks at her, biting his bottom lip. "I had uh - been thinking about asking you out." He casts his eyes down, "But I sort of spilled the beans to Berto and Kitty, and I guess they beat me to the punch. I wasn't sure if you'd be interested."

"Oh man. His footwork's good..." He says to Illyana, "But it's not Kitty good." He tilts his head, and says, sotto voce, "Do you think they could be a thing?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Fortunately the point of the dancing is to look good with one's partner, so Kitty's jibe turns out to be only that as she takes her place with Roberto. She moves into his arm, her own moving to take hold. "I'm glad you made me aware of this," Kitty tells him as they dance up close. "I've been... distracted enough, I probably woudn't have noticed without you," Kitty tells the Brazilian.

She takes his hand as he spins her out gracefully and then she returns to him, like a moon circling her planet, coming back nearer as she's pulled back into his orbit and up close again. Kitty leans her lips close to Roberto's ear to say, "I'd say it's going pretty well so far. No stabbings before 9pm probably beat the Vegas odds." Kitty gives Roberto a soft, awrm flash of brown eyes, then looks over to their friends as they dance. Though soon Roberto is turning her about again. It's obvious Kitty enjoys those little spins, smiling warmer each time she's drawn back in.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Cue _Separate Ways_ flooding the dancefloor from the well-placed speakers, the stamp of percussion cut with the best of 80s synthesizers, and a raspy echo plowing through the notes from behind. They carry right along while the jukebox glows, bubbling up. Illyana's skill on her feet is very much defined by using dance as a physical parable for death or defense, used in time as she orbits around Doug with an ever adjusting process. He leads, without doubt, but she mirrors his actions with a light sureness on her feet. Now just to make her forget that either of them occupy a place starting to buss a bit more, though her best friend makes everything look good and Roberto isn't currently burning everyone's faces off with saucy Latin moves yet. Still, the sight is pleasant as any to behold.

"Why do you ask the evident, Douglas Ramsey?" she asks him, cheek almost to his, words purling dwedrops of sound that coalesce along a trembling chord of spidersilk just at the outermost vestiges of hearing. In Russian, no less, to distinguish the high peaks and the deep gulfs between syllables. A shade to the left, the eclipse brought into perfect form becomes disrupted, finding her curving away, turning within another rotation that answers the onward rush of music and time. "What do you see, right now?" For the reputation that she bites, so far, so true.

She leans in and whispers something else that might as well need a telepath to dissect from silence. With it, a fleeting smirk, the white-hot fire of an Arctic sun.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Check it out," Roberto says glancing at the couple. "Doug's got some moves," the remark comes with a smile, like maybe just maybe he's putting away the 'too cool for you' armour he wears.

A nod for missing the deal with Doug and Illy, "Rough time for everyone, I didn't you know," a frown. "Lose anyone, so trying to keep my eye on the ball for everyone else," he says, before smiling again, "Plus Doug sort of blurted it out after Hope showed up, kinda hard to miss at that point" he laughs lightly.

"Definitely a good sign," he whispers back before spinning Kitty out again, noticing how they make her grin.

When the songs change, the spins stop for now and Roberto moves a little closer for the much slower song that follows, "Ominous," he says of the title with a smirk. Then he looks over at Illy and Doug, "They look good together if you disqualify his clothes," he remarks lightly. "They're both your friends right, so figure it'll work with them?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty hasn't picked up on any of the conversation going on elsewhere on the dance floor. She does look down and gives a soft grin at the commentary about dancing attire. "His clothing is genuine," Kitty protests, standing up for her long-time friend. "Illy looks fantastic tonight though. Good sign that, I think," she tells Roberto.

As the music changes and Roberto brings her closer, Kitty moves to slide her arms up around Roberto's shoulders as they start moving more slowly. She follows his leads gracefully enough, eyes lifted to the handsome Brazilian as they dance, and steal glances over at their friends.

"I'm glad you weren't as affected," Kitty tells him, keeping her voice very soft. "And... thank you again for tonight. I needed to get away," she tells him. Indeed, Roberto probably had to find her down in the computer labs in the X-men base, where she's been spending a lot of her time since the attack. "It's nice having you around, Roberto. I hope you won't be heading off again anytime soon."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug moves in for something more traditional, his hand on Illyana's hip, his other hand holding hers as he leads her in something a little simpler, a little more intimate. He remembers Stevie Hunter's dance classes well. "Well I mean that they set this up before I could ask you out, and I'm glad they did, because where I come from girls like you don't agree to go out with guys like me-" He bites the corner of his bottom lip.

"But then again, fortune favors the bold, right?" He casts his eyes down, almost shyly. "And that's where *I* come from. Where you come from the story might be different. I'd never tell you what you think, or what you want-" He clears his throat, slightly. Huh-hem. He's very... pink.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Predators wearing the spots of their prey is possibly a good thing. Or a disturbing commentary on habitat destruction and global warming. Make of that what they will. Illyana follows the flow of the music, skimming from one bar to the next with that deeply gathered insight for the wordless language. Following a song is easy. Looking competent and not like she needs a sword to skewer a hapless bad guy with, another matter altogether. <<You come from a city full of sorcerers, do you?>> The Russian inquiry hangs in the air in that debased volume, giving Doug at least a /little/ privacy. Or credit. Or this is as near as she knows how to get, delivering a joke so dry and deadpan, it makes the Namib Desert look like a tropical rainforest.

As smooth and gliding as her steps are, inhumanly so, the core of rigidity lying within speaks to the unspoken trauma, psychic scars of her harrowing of Limbo. <<Would you fear me saying yes or no?>> Doug moves and she follows, echoes anticipated almost as fast as they come, her arm rising to swoop around his and anchor on his shoulder. Lightly, deadly cautiously. Almost amusing, compared to the others. Every turn gives a new aspect to Kitty and Berto making the stars jealous in their duet, a passing brief nod to confirm wordlessly neither of them over there are on fire three songs in (and drinks not down). "Siberian rules are different. In winter, you perish if you wait too long. Jump into the fire, da?" An adage good as any, worth making for stepping in, sliding apart. "Do you need water?"

Yana, no!

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Never said they weren't genuine," Roberto smiles. "Just not, y'know, good," he says before chuckling. "I'm a dick, I know, sorry," he says in that faint accent of his. He glances over at the other couple as Kitty slides her arms around his shoulders and he slides his around her waist, "Definitely a good sign," he agrees, before his eyes come back to Kitty and what she's wearing. "What sort of read should I be getting from your outfit," he teases.

As for the more serious topics, considers offering condolences to Kitty about her missing father but stops himself short, leaving tonight for happier subjects. "Yeah," he says. "I'm staying, decided I want on the team," he says. "And hey, glad to get you out of the base, you ever just want to hang and blow off some steam you know where to find me, right?" he asks.,

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Soft brown eyes peek over to her friends, the more fun that they are having the better that Kitty feels. "They do make make a nice couple," she whispers to Roberto. "Sort of a Felix and Oscar thing, and no I will /not/ tell you which is which."

Kitty watches them go past, turning the soft smile it gives her back towards Roberto. And for the moment, she focuses in on him more fully. "What sort of read? Oh, let me think," Kitty muses as she lets Roberto slowly turn her about the dance floor while the soft song plays on.

Kitty draws a little breath. "Quiet, normally cheerful girl, looking for her Romeo. Tired of chasing over-sized metallic... people, who don't know a good thing when they see it. Likes the Cubs, computers, and having handsome South Americans to dance with. Maybe wants to show off too. Just a little bit." She looks down a touch bashfully at the last part. The shirt is a bit more fitted than her normal attired at that.

Kitty looks back up to Roberto. "Glad that you're saying," she tells him with a slow nod. "I might just take you up on that. Especially if you keep dancing so well." She leans her head in gently against his and continues dancing.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"I can't believe it." Doug says to Illyana, still sotto voce, "They're hitting it off. They. Them. Specifically those two."

He considers his options for a moment, and then he looks up into Illyana's eyes. "Who wouldn't brave the fire, to earn Her Majesty's favor?" He asks. "What could be worth more than your faith, love, and trust? If I could earn those things, I could undertake any quest."

He gives that shy little grin again, as he leads her through the steps, his eyes fixed on hers. "Could a guy like me ever date a girl like you?"

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Thank goodness for music covering up the references or -burning ears- could be involved with certain big people mentioned. Illyana has to concentrate all she can on not stepping on Doug's toes or saying something that literally makes opening up the ground underneath her that much better than facing it. "She is patient. More than most, and can laugh or scowl if he goes too far." An appraising assessment of her best friend given with the same consideration a sculpture has from a Louvre docent, she takes it to the beat of the turn Doug sends her on. In the end, a dance is just a dance. Round and round, how the Moon follows the Earth, and the Earth follows the Sun; she marks the passages through space and time where the Sun takes up the waltz of the Milky Way, all the way up the Virgo Supercluster into atomic rhythms and quarked-out harmonies no one ever forgets. How could they, when every principle is worked into the placement of his hand, the slide of her feet, the hum of the spheres?

"A touch of happiness, nyet? Give them a dream of a life." Whatever odd sentiments rest behind that have the blonde girl lapsing silent, if only for a time, less to think about what dancing involves and more what human proximity means. The unanswerable questions given so earnestly actually almost stop her, the secondhand knocked back - - tick, tick, tick.

A quizzical look, really. Pale eyes rise, that pointedly sharp look with its own terrible weight. Knives at nine, swords at seven. "You are teasing me." A flat statement. A question. Rhetorical and not. Oh gods, someone save them all. She's puzzled as much as doubtful on that front. /Is/ he?

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto looks from Illy and Doug to Kitty and says, "Need to know who Felix and Oscar are first, gata," he says. "Not one I know." Meaning it wasn't a cheesy 80's TV show or movie, or at least not one he's heard of.

Brows raise as Kitty gives him her read on her outfit and herself, "Hmm cheerful, knows what she wants and what she doesn't, loyal," 'cause even Berto knows Cubs fans aren't fans for their stellar win record, "Smart, /fantastic/ taste in dance partners, and confident enough what she's got," he tilts his head as though considering, "Yeah, gata, I'd swipe right," he says with a little laugh at himself.

"Thanks, hope you're sticking around too," as she puts her head against his own, "You know, hard to find a good dance partner." As if that's all there was to it.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Hearing Roberto's version of her attire seems to be flattering, and pleasing, to Kitty. "Swipe right, eh?" she says with a soft, charmed laugh. She continues dancing with him, one of the arms that are gently wrapped around his shoulders, the hand briefly resting along the back of his neck.

"I think I am. I loved Oxford. But I missed Xavier's too. Had Kurt and Lockheed there which helped tremendously. But, still... Excalibur wasn't quite the same, you know?" she tells the Brazilian as they dance about.

The mutant up in the rafters drops down, landing lightly and going over to get another drink from the bar. "How does he drink that upside down anyway?" Kitty asks, glancing up above where he'd been hanging. She gives a little shake of her head. "You know what though? You're right about one thing," she tells Roberto, then keeps him on the hook for a little bit before whispering into his ear, "I do have a fantastic taste in dance partners. At least tonight."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"Sometimes I am." Doug says, "But not right now." The corner of his mouth curves up. He leans in, to whisper in Illyana's ear, before he looks at Berto and Kitty. "I still can't believe it. But hey... he's a different type of guy than she usually dates --"

Then he tilts his head at Illyana and thinks about it. Fortune, they say, favors the bold -- "Vy khotite poyti kuda-nibud' i razobrat'?"

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
<<Yeshche rano nachinat' kolot',>> Illyana replies. <<Dlya vsego yest' vremya i vremya dlya kazhdogo pod nebesami, nyet?>> The spin of Russian is a terrible addition to the whole story, but for some kind of reason, the shadows eat the pair of them whole.

Blink and miss their vanishing. Really. Or look, drinks are up!

Roberto da Costa has posed:
A grin for the swipe remarks and Kitty's reaction, "That's what the kids are saying," says the eighteen year old to the other eighteen year old. He mms, softly as that hand is put at the back of his neck.

"Yeah, think I do, just not quite home, not quite family, right? I'm the same way, I love Brazil, but guess I gotta accept, Xavier's is home and commit, y'know."

Roberto glances backwards, and smiles at Kitty's question, "Could ask Beast," he says of the mechanics of hanging upside down and drinking, "But not sure I'd understand his answer," he grins.

He blinks as the other couple vanishes, but his surprise soon becomes a smile, he nods to the empty dance floor, "Guess we're pretty good at this matchmaker stuff, eh, gata?" he asks before his attention settles back to Kitty.

"And so do I," he says dark eyes flicking to Kitty's lips before he leans in to kiss her.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty looks over towards the sight of their disappearing friends. She gives a soft, quiet chuckle. "Wow, I guess we really are," she agrees quietly. The young woman turns her focus back to Roberto then and the dancing.

The kiss isn't quite expected, but after the first second or two, Kitty's head tilts up towards the taller man and she kisses him back. Slow. Tender. Sensual. The kiss finally breaks and Kitty looks a bit dazed by it, in a good way.

"Maybe they're pretty good at it too?" she comments to Roberto, resting her head on his shoulder then and dancing closer.

And somewhere in the room, Journey Man just grins knowingly.