"You like Three Days Grace? That's awesome!" Miles said, almost disbelieving but at the same time, so glad she did and it was easy to tell by the way he was beaming. "Tangled up in you is from Staind and it's sort of... sentimental" he added, but the moment they'd end up listening to it together, she'd know it was full blown romantic, so his cheeks flushed a little.

"We could listen to it any time you like" he offered, leaving the door open for, you know... anytime. Tomorrow? Later today? Where's the nearest computer?

The chicken smelled delicious and boy, did she know it. You didn't need a fox's nose to pick up on it and she was quick to have a bite, enjoying it quite a lot. Miles felt tempted to interrupt her and tell her she had to wait until he 'said grace' and then he'd improvise some overly long made up prayer just to see what she would do, but naaah, it would ruin the moment, however funny that might have been. He actually liked seeing her enjoy her meal this much.

She then took up on his offer and barraged him with a few questions, which he handled one by one.

"My favorite is my aunt's lasagna, but if my mother is around, I have to say it's her paella" he said as he cut small slices of his chicken before eating them. "She's of spanish descent, from the Valencia region and paella is like... the dish over there, so there's a matter of pride involved besides taste. My parenst are actually good people, strict and..." he paused as he thought it over.

He didn't know what Ruby would think of his parents if he flat out said it, but judging by the tales from a lot of the school residents, happy parents leaving their kids to study and fully content with their mutations were a minority.

"...They're a bit afraid" he confessed, now starting to eat, looking at his chicken. "My mom's religious, she's terrified of my dogs and they kinda prefer I stay here if I want to keep them. She says I can visit as long as I don't bring them over, but in a way, I think she's still in denial" he said.

He changed the subject by answering her third question, lest she think his parents weren't all that likeable and he didn't want to cause that impression on their 'first' (?) day.

"I still like Harry Potter and I don't think I've read anything that topped my fanboyism over it when I was a kid, though my favorite genre is still sci-fi" he said.

"Yours?" he now asked, as he got up from the table and headed to the fridge to get them something to drink and swallow the chicken with. He then followed it with a question, more as a joke than any real curiosity behind it. "Are you in the Edward camp or in the Jacob one?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

Sometimes, people say things that they really regret after saying them. Ruby was currently having a moment like and she could have sworn that her heart dropped in the pit of her stomach. Her ears drooped slightly and her tail curled around herself self consciously.

Ruby you idiot! How can you be so stupid, not everyone had it as easy as you did with your family. Some people were even kicked out for being mutants, how can you not think things through. You are supposed to be smartRuby berated herself inwardly.

Luckily though, Miles seemed to be repetitively fine on all fronts with her questions. Her self consciousness went away though when he mentioned the sentimentality of the song which made her blush a little bit.

“I wouldn't mind that, I have my computer up in my room if you want me to go get it,” Ruby offered, her voice slightly higher than normal.

She listened to more of his favorite things, giving her more an idea of what he was like. It started bringing memories back from that strange dream like state, the reasons why she liked him. The fox girl finished off her plate fairly quickly and reached over to get more as he started talking again. She had to stay fueled to shift.

When he mentioned his parents, she winced a little, while that wasn't the worse that she had heard it still broke her heart that people didn't understand what mutants were all about. It was possible that Miles' mother needed a more positive reassurance that mutants could be good. Maybe Ruby could be that positive reassurance if she really worked at it. After all, she was one of the best people to talk to about the positive things about being a mutant.

“My favorite food has always been chicken, I can't really help it though, it's a fox thing. I have to eat it sorta fresh or I'll have the urge to hunt it and since stealing chickens isn't the best thing,” Ruby explained with a sheepish and nervous grin. It was hard to tell how he wold react to the fact that the girl his older self fell in love with was a chicken stealer.

“My parents are calm, kind and understanding people. Moms a mutant and Dad's a human, so they were understanding about me and my sisters,” Ruby explained, “And...if you want my parents can talk to yours about the whole mutant thing. Especially my dad, he has a wife and three daughters that are all mutants. He knows the most about the whole accepting everyone abilities thing.”

Ruby hoped that Miles would take her very earnest offer. She could see her father doing a very good job talking to Miles' family about the whole mutant thing. While he wasn't a people person, he was adamant about talking about equality in between all living things even if it involved robots.

“Oh! I really love the Wrinkle in Time Series, better known as the time quartet, it's really cool and it has time travel and magic in it!” Ruby exclaimed with a happy grin, but did look ever so slightly cross. The little fox girl's ears drooped a very small amount “As for what team, Team Lupin Family, my family really despises that series all for different reasons.”

Miles had the refrigerator open as he looked for something to drink. She was up for listening to music after they ate and she was giving him her side of the answers for her own questions. She also offered to have her father talk to his family, so maybe they'd understand a little better that mutants weren't so different from the rest. The boy hesitated.

"It's a little more complicated than just not understanding what mutants are about. There's a bit of... fear, in the mix."

He tried to collect his thoughts and remember if he had spoken with her about his mutation in the dream, but some parts of it were simply lost in the dreamscape never to be found again. He remembered tender moments and dangerous ones, but day to day conversations were a blur, so maybe he'd be repeating himself when he tried to explain what he could do, since there was a chance she could remember what he didn't.

"My dad is not all that happy with the mutation thing, but mostly because of my mother. She's religious and she dealt with my dogs since they were pups. She fed them, bathed them, played with them and she remembers them the way they were... back when they were normal. To see them the way they are now feels unnatural to her and what she worries about the most is that it could happen again."

It was the reason why he was at Xavier's. While he had managed to keep his cool throughout his stay, he didn't have much control over his mutation when it actually triggered. Once he turned into dark mode, he was pretty much unpredictable and it was a risk his mother wouldn't take, specially with a daughter under her care. His dad insisted on him getting rid of the dogs as well, no matter how obedient the animals were, because he didn't trust them.

"Let's just say they don't think I can keep my mutation under wraps all the time and they're afraid I might do something we might all regret down the line since I have a few... control issues."

She mentioned a book series he had heard or read about, but never actually picked up and sat down with, but the moment she mentioned time travel, his interest was piqued. Regarding his Twilight joke however, Miles was surprised to see how easily he could tell when a joke had been a hit or a miss by looking at her ears, and in this case, it had been an astounding miss. He decided to compensate by offering her something to drink as well.

"There's Coke, iced tea, orange and grape juice" he said, offering her options while he served ice cubes in two empty glasses. "We can toast to mutual dislike of sparkly vampires and to Team Lupin!" he added, now flashing a smile.

"Speaking of, you mentioned having sisters and they're both mutants. Can I ask what your mutations are about?" he inquired, offering her the option to decline if she found the topic uncomfortable.

If there was one thing Ruby knew about it was mutants with control issues. She even had extreme difficulties were her abilities sometimes, due to the volatile nature of electricity. It was easy for her to short out something, or accidentally blow something up if she wasn't careful.

"Well it might be easier to sit down and talk to them about it...if you want I can be there if you do. If anything my family has some experience with mutants with control issues." Ruby offered.

While Ruby knew this was sort of an easier said than done kind of things, she was willing to be with miles if he was planning on talking to his parents. Not only that, but she knew a good deal about more out of control mutations than most mutants did. Not only because of her sisters and herself, but because of her observations at the lab when her sisters were unable to protect her. Mutants there were constantly put through all sorts of of hell if they couldn't control their abilities.

"Coke sounds good," Ruby answered him, tail curling around her body a little.

Now came the "What sort of mutants are your sisters," question. Ruby wasn't uncomfortable with telling about her siblings powers, as long as Miles didn't ask about the extent of her siblings power she was fine. After all, some thing were better kept in secret in the Lupin family.

"Well, I'm a fox shifter and when I shift into fox form I can produce electricity. I'm a sort of electric fox," Ruby explained informatively. "As for my sisters, Emerald's a wolf shifter and kinda like me she has animal like qualities, except her's are more pronounced. That and she sort of has a wolf mindset at times, so don't ever be surprised if she she says things like Pack or pup. Sapphire on the other hand, she's a darkness manipulator with no animal features at all, something we are kinda confused about but we don't question it too much."

While Ruby didn't go into full detail, it was just enough to stave most peoples curiosities. At least that way she wouldn't give away too much of her families secrets. While Miles was someone she trusted in the past, she didn't truly know him in this timeline so that meant he had to earn more of her trust before she told him anything else about the interesting Lupin family.

The foamy light brown bubbles raised to the top of the glass when he stopped pouring her soda and he placed it next to her plate. He then proceeded to serve himself while listening to what she was saying about her sisters.

Miles curiosity in this was mostly because he hadn't met that many people who's brothers or sisters were mutants as well. It was always the lone mutant in the family dealing with incomprehension from their parents, but having three kids being mutants, hey, no wonder her parents had to sit down and accept them wholeheartedly. They were outnumbered!

Well, that wasn't true. It was always good to know there were families out there who loved their children indiscriminately despite their mutation and the Lupins seemed like an interesting family in that regard. Talking to his parents about mutation with a cute, good looking, visible mutant even seemed like a good idea. He knew his mother was the one with the most issues, but seeing a girl as gentle and smart as Ruby might change her perceptions on her fears and Miles' own mutation.

"Your family sounds interesting" he said finally. "I have pretty vague memories regarding Emerald... and to me she'll always be Emerald, never Emmy..." he added with a nervous smile "but I'm interested in having you guys meet my parents some day and giving them a pep talk. That'd be quite educational for them."

It was becoming clear to him now that while 'Future Miles' had made many mistakes in his time, Ruby had probably been the highlight of his short existence. The one thing he had done right and probably worth living in a wasteland for. He enjoyed her company and found many of her qualities to be endearing, from how she gave her feelings away with her tail or ears to the way she was devouring chicken. She was also a mean soccer player and a looker to boot.

So... should they give it a second go? Or would that be a first go? Would she say no? This was real life they were talking about, while that was a dream. Did she have the same feelings for him she had in the dream? There were plenty of other dudes around without an apocalypse to kill them off. Would she say no? They were much younger now. Did she have a boyfriend already? Oh man, should he ask that one? Or should he just... ask her out and find out? Would she say no?

His cheeks flushed as he considered these questions. For a kid who considered himself outgoing and uninhibited, he was getting pretty nervous. Come on, Miles, it's just a question! One simple question! Do you have a boyfriend? Would you like to go out on a date with me? Okay, two simple questions!

Nom nom good chicken...

Come on! She won't say no! She already said yes in your dreams! Do you have a boyfriend!? Would you like to go out on a date with me!?

He had butterflies in his stomach, a part of him fearing rejection and another desperate to ask and be done with it. He dropped his fork on the plate and paused as he summoned the courage.

Okay, okay.... Here goes... Come on, you can do this...

"Do you... Do you have go out on a boyfriend with a date with me?"

Ruby took the coke from Miles and practically chugged it down, forgetting how thirsty she had been earlier. Maybe, soccer had worn her out far more than she thought it did. Today was really shaping up to be an odd day. At first, she was just reading underneath the old oak tree and now she was sitting here with a guy that she knew in another time, another place, but in a way she felt like she had known him forever.

“To be honest, intresting doesn't even begin to cover my family, but I'm sure my family would love to help your family understand you better. We sometimes understand other people better than we understand each other,” The little genius told Miles honestly.

As long as Emerald and Sapphire don't try to kill each other before then Ruby thought sadly. The day that the older Lupin sisters got along completely was the day that pigs grew wings and flew to the moon.

A slightly uneasy silence fell over the room and the tone seemed to change a little. It was still fun and happy, but there was something else in the room now. Anticipation perhaps? Nervousness?Maybe it was girlish intuition trying to kick in after all these years, or maybe it was just common sense, but Ruby could feel something was up. In a brief nerve wracking moment, Ruby thought that maybe it was because he didn't like her enough as she thought he did. It could be possible he was wondering what in the world was wrong with his older self for trying to date a girl like her. The fox girl's ears drooped sadly and her tail hung sadly next to her legs.

Once again though, anxiety seemed to mislead her because what she was asked was not what her anxiety filled mind was expecting at all. Her ears perked up and her tail started waging a little like a happy perky pup.

“Of course I will! I thought you were going to shoot me down for a minute there,” Ruby blurted out, almost immediately slamming her palm into her face. “I mean, I'm not really used to boys asking me out or anything...but I really want to go out with you!”

Dammit he messed it up! He totally messed it up! Why why why couldn't he just keep it cool and suave? She'd totally laugh on his fa...

>> “Of course I will! I thought you were going to shoot me down for a minute there. I mean, I'm not really used to boys asking me out or anything...but I really want to go out with you!”

Well, that was... that was excellent! It couldn't have gone any better!

The boy beamed as he cut a piece of chicken and tried to mend his previous blunder with a heartfelt compliment.

"I fail to see why other boys don't ask you out. It's their loss anyway" he said as he now bit and chewed.

Was it the tail and ears? There were other visible mutants who had it worse and Ruby's extras seemed more like improvements in his eyes. Watch too much anime and things like that don't seem so weird anymore.

Was it maybe the brains? She read manuals. On robotics of all topics. Did it scare some people off that she was smarter than them? Well, her smarts saved his dog's life in the future and again, it was an asset instead of a flaw. He had no qualms on dating a girl who knew more than he did because something good might rub off on him, right?

Oh, he got it. It was the killer soccer player thing! Guys didn't like getting their butts handed to them on sports by a girl! Well, again, he didn't mind. How many guys were lucky enough to have a girl who actually LIKED soccer?

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Really, I don't. I keep seeing only good things" he added. "Your hair is beautiful, your eyes are gorgeous and you're very sweet. These boys are probably blind."

Well, now that he had the 'stamp of approval for dating' there was no reason for him to keep his thoughts to himself, was there?

"Now, where would you like to go? I don't think we ever went to the movies or dancing or anything like that in the dream. It was a really awful dream and we deserve to build some good memories over it."

So Ruby wasn't exactly used to receiving compliments like the one Miles gave her. Not because she wasn't complimented enough, that wasn't it at all, she was complimented fairly often. No, it was because of the fact it was someone who she really rather liked complimenting her.

Add onto the fact she hadn't had that many boyfriends in the past and that leads to only one thing, a beet red Ruby Lupin. Her face was lending herself to her name quite nicely at the moment, tail curling around her small body self consciously, blush tinging her cheeks.

"Thank you for the compliments I think you are attractive in guy ways too and you are very nice," Ruby said, her voice increased in pitch considerably. The little fox girl intook a deep breathe, trying to calm down a little. After some time the redness of her cheek dimmed and she was actually able to talk the guy. "I think we should go to the movies and maybe about to a cheap dinner afterwords so we can both afford it.

Ruby really wasn't that good at the whole, planning dates thing, which was hilarious in a way because the girl planned just about anything else. Heck, the fox girl managed to plan a whole family reunion where the main Lupin family managed to avoid her grandmother at every step of the way, that took some skilled planning. When it came to her own social life, Ruby was a little less than competent at it, if only because she didn't have a lot of experience with it.

"D'aww, now you're just being nice" he said with a smile from ear to ear. He never got those sort of words from other people, but he was well aware he wasn't hideous. It's just that... while girls may say to each other they were pretty or whatever, guys never did, so he wasn't used to getting compliments. She didn't seem to be used to compliments either, since her face went a cute red and people who get them often were better at hiding it.

He wasn't used to this dating thing either, though. While minor flirts and fleeting crushes might have happened before his mutation showed up, his sentimental life took a back seat afterwards. Knowing that being a mutant didn't automatically make you an outcast where dating was concerned was quite reassuring, indeed.

Now, what movie would the go watch? He didn't care. Where would they go eat? He didn't care. What would they do afterwards? He didn't care, but if they managed to spend the time together having fun, that's all that mattered.

"All right. I'll think something up then and let you know. At least I know not to take you to a veggie joint" he said with a chuckle as he finished his chicken. It was getting late and he needed to return to Sanctuary before dusk, even though he felt really tempted to stick around, but he didn't like staying overnight without talking it out with Xavier staff and make sure he had permission.

"I'll call you later tonight if you don't mind, so we can plan things over" he offered as he started to get up. "Will you be available? he asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.