POV: Aidan
"Just set the fucking table please Aidan", Colt huffed at me. He was leaning against the kitchen island with one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other.
"I don't understand why we have to sit at the table", I argued. "We always sit at the island".
Colt leveled me with a look that told me he was three seconds away from just doing it himself now and holding a grudge later.
"Fine okay I'm going", I said quickly while grabbing the plates out of the cupboard. "Did Luka say what this big news was?"
He had turned away to stir the vegetables that were currently simmering on the stove. "Nope. Just that the news was big, and he wanted us to make the dinner special. Hence," he said with a pointed look at me, "the need to set the table".
I flipped him off when he turned back around, and Greyson laughed as he rounded the corner and caught the tail end of our conversation.
"Do you want any help", he asked Colt before opening the fridge.
"Choose a couple of different wines to go with the meal. I don't care what ones just pick whatever you think will work with roasted vegetables and lasagna", Colt instructed him.
Greyson sent me a look and it was my turn to laugh. Colt didn't handle change well and he didn't like being out of the loop. Not being able to know what Luka's big news is was probably killing him.
The three of us went about our tasks in comfortable silence as we put the finishing touches on dinner. Colt was just pulling the lasagna out of the oven when we heard Lark and Luka coming out of the elevator.
"No way. You can't be serious. In what fucking universe is Magneto more powerful than Jean Grey?", Larks outraged voice echoed down the hallways.
"Magneto has control!", Luka exclaimed. "I don't care that he doesn't have an extremely powerful alter ego because he can control his powers and understands his limits. Jean Grey has no control over Pheonix. All that power is wasted".
The two of them walked through the doorway and the look on Lark's face was priceless. Jean Grey was one of her favorite characters and I had a feeling Luka was only bashing her to get this exact reaction.
"I'm speechless Luka", she said. ''Truly I have never heard such complete stupidity be presented as rational thought".
Luka lost it then and a chain reaction of laughter broke out amongst the four of us.
Lark folded her arms out of her chest and raised an eyebrow as she waited for the laughter to die down. "So glad I can amuse you guys", she snarked.
I walked over and took her hand, pulling her into my chest before. "Come on you have to admit you make easy bait when it comes to Phoenix", I said into her hair as I gave her a kiss. I felt her relax in my arms and any annoyance, pretend or real, seemed to melt away.
"How was your day?", she asked me.
"Long. Xavier is working me pretty hard right now and I'm just thankful that tomorrow is my rest day".
She looked up at me then and scanned my face. "Is he pushing you too hard?", she asked suspiciously.
I chuckled before pressing a kiss to her lips. "Leave it to you to ask if a professional athlete is being pushed too hard".
She narrowed her eyes and brought her hands up to my face. "I mean it Aidan", she said in a tone far more serious than I was expecting. "I know you. I know how easily you can lose yourself in things".
"I know", I murmured. She was right and I wondered if she was thinking of all those times she had to sneak me ice packs after I came back from overworking myself in high school.
Winning wasn't everything to me. Perfection was.
I think deep down I knew that perfection wasn't something I could ever achieve. Which meant that I could channel my restless and angry energy into something and have it never be too much.
"X looks out for me though Lark. The same way you used to. You don't have to worry about me, I'm okay".
Lark seemed to accept that and pulled me down for another kiss. I don't think I'd ever get tired of her kisses.
"Dinner is ready", Colt called from the dining room. When the two of us broke apart I could tell we were both surprised to see that the kitchen was empty.
We made our way into the dining room where the rest of them were waiting at a table filled with candles.
"What's the special occasion?", Lark asked as she started dishing up.
"Ask Luka", Colt grumbled. "He has some big news he'd like to share".
I saw a brief spark of recognition light up her face but I put it out of mind once Luka spoke up. "Not my news actually. Lark, would you care to share with the guys what you told me today?".
A grin spread across her face at Luka's prompt and I couldn't tell if I should be excited or nervous. With those two it was a 50/50 chance on whether they were plotting against us or planning something for us.
"Well," she started. "I think I'm ready to move in with you guys. That is if you still want me to", she finished in a rush.
Chaos erupted as we all started to speak at once and express our excitement at Lark finally deciding to move in with us.
Her laughter rang out, effectively quieting us down. As if we'd want to drown out that sound. "I take it that means you do still want me to move in with you?", she teased.
Colt immediately launched into planning her move and Greyson quickly put a stop to that, changing the subject to the upcoming holiday.
The five of us quickly started debating what should go on the Thanksgiving dinner menu and what shouldn't.
I had never cared about holidays before. Of course, the guys and I celebrated them and got each other gifts when the occasion called for it, but the holidays never held the same magic that they had when we were kids.
I took a sip of my wine and looked around the table.
As I looked at the faces of my brothers and the woman we loved, I didn't have to worry about that magic. It was woven into our dynamic again the second she came back.