dinner for who?

[Xaver Xian]

"Anyway, I'm going over to her place on Friday for dinner as a sort of housewarming, and you're invited too. She's pretty creative and a lot more girly than I am, so I figured you'd like to see what her place looks like since you're trying to fix up your stuff."
She raised her eyebrows at him but said nothing, putting her dishes into the dishwasher.
"...And I'm sure there is enough pink and frills vomited everywhere to appease even you?"

A grin finally split Kylie's lips and she fell into a fit of laughter, shaking her head and leaning back against the counter.
"Sure, Xav," she said, passing him to grab the last few dishes. "I'm sure we can talk about our hair and our tampons, too."
He sputtered and playfully swiped at her, and she laughed and dodged his foot.
"Seriously, though, that sounds great. I need some input for my room. It does look like.. how did you say? Someone vomited pink on the walls? Yeah." She passed him a warm grin, and Xaver knew suddenly that it had been great intuition to want to bring Kylie after all. "Thanks, Bro."

It was well into rush hour on that late Friday afternoon when Xaver helped Kylie out of a cab a few blocks from Callie's apartment. It was easier to abandon it and walk given that all of downtown was pretty much a parking lot anyway, and because Kylie had taken off her bandages that morning for good and been allowed to hide her wings for the first time since her violent homecoming and further propel her healing, she'd insisted they stretch their legs a bit. She wore a cheery yellow sundress and knee high brown velvet boots despite the gloomy weather, a gauzy white sweater over her shoulders and contrasting sharply with the long, thick waves of raven hair down her back. There was little doubt the well dressed man beside her was a relative, his white button down shirt and black slacks complimenting his matching black hair and fierce blue gaze.

They walked casually down the side streets, chatting and bickering their way to Callie's doorstep. Kylie snuck ahead to do the honors, shifting her foil covered platter to one hand to free the other enough to rap on the door.

[Callie McDaniel]

She answered the door in a grey knee-length, short sleeved dress, her platinum blond hair slightly curly.

"Hi."

She'd been cleaning and cooking all day in preparation for this visit. She had a hope that Xaver would take notice of what a dutiful house keeper she was.

"Come on in."

Callie stepped back from the door, holding out one hand to take the foil covered platter from Kylie. The door opened up into a living room. The walls were painted a soft cream, the carpet a deep chocolate brown. The furniture was brown suede, with pink accent pillows. Picture frames on the walls highlighted Callie's friends from back home, along with some pictures of her family.

Within view was the dinning room, where the table was set for three.

[Kylie Xian]

Kylie blinked at the woman who opened the door, finding herself suddenly unprepared. Callie McDaniel, she realized very quickly, was not the type of woman it was easy to stand beside and feel pretty. She was tall, blond, well-manicured, and gorgeous, and as Kylie passed her the tray of mixed fruits and whipped creams she had to smother a groan as she realized the ridiculousness of it.
Really? Whipped cream and fruit?
Xaver had said Callie had good taste, and he was definitely right, but... Kylie couldn't help but suddenly feeling cheap and childish in the face of all that fashion and glamor.

"Hi," she said awkwardly.
She forced a bright smile and stepped inside, more and more thankful that she'd been allowed to take the last of her bandages off and hide the ruin of her wings. It would be so out of place here in all these pretty things...



Xaver frowned slightly at the top of Kylie's head as she beamed up at Callie and stepped inside; he'd known her from the day she'd been birthed, and was hardly fooled by even her best acts that could fool everybody else. Without missing a beat though, he leaned in and planted a kiss onto Callie's cheek, gently squeezing her elbow as he stepped inside.
"Hey, Cal. Thanks for having us. You look great."
He passed her a smile and followed Kylie toward the kitchen.

[Callie McDaniel]

Callie's heart fluttered at the kiss on the cheek, and with a smile, she closed the door, following her guests into the kitchen. It was also immaculate, down the the pans of food that sat simmering on the stove.

Callie placed the tray down on the counter and turned to Kylie.
"I can't believe how tall you've gotten. Last I remember, you were just a tiny thing."

She smiled at the dark-haired girl, and glanced at xaver, offering a smile to him as well.

"I hope you found the place alright?"

[Xaver Xian]

Callie's home was upper-end, high maintenance, and well manicured and groomed, much like Callie herself. Xaver had expected no less, really. He'd known Callie for a long time, and if anything had stayed a constant in the background of all their youth and tribulations, it was her taste for the finer things in life. A good taste, too - even an idiot (even a straight male one like him) could see that. It had obviously made an impression on Kylie, as well, and he had to check himself before letting a frown turn up his lips.

Kylie smiled brightly at Callie, nodding her dark head.
"I'm afraid I don't really remember much of you, to be honest," she said, gaze flickering almost longingly at Callie's shoes. "Xaver had to fill in the details."

"And he did so graciously and with utmost flattery, I assure you," Xaver chimed in, moving past Kylie into the kitchen and toward the cooking foods. He skimmed over everything, looking for something to nibble on when nobody was looking in a completely boyish manner.
"We found the place easily, actually."

"Thanks to my navigational skills," Kylie said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Get Xaver in the back of a taxi and he'll be lost faster than a bigot at a gay rights parade."

Xaver scowled at her over his sneaky unraveling of tin foil.