I was just a tad bit mad when Colossus only got those little scenes in XMen, so I decided to write a story about him... and a girl. My friend requested he be a cameo role in one of my other stories, so I decided to jump the gun and make a story, which is better than a cameo (hence the title). Yes, I have no life. One-shot, tons o' fluff. Enjoy.
Piotr Rasputian was having a bad day. First off, he had cut himself three times when shaving that morning. Second, he had gotten so angry at the fact that his shoes just wouldn't go on his feet that he had ripped them in half. Third, he had forgotten his homework that he had worked on for hours the night before under his bed and had to give a lame excuse to the professor. The list went on and on.
Pete sighed. At times like these he really liked to do was sit in the library and draw. However, just as luck would have it, the library was closed because Pyro had 'accidentally' gotten a hold of some lighter fluid and torched a couch in there. He was now spending his Saturday afternoon in detention while Pete was stuck drawing in the kitchen. He sketched out some cartoons, but didn't really feel in the comic mood.
Someone coughed and he looked up surprised. Usually nobody came to the kitchen on Saturday, they were all out doing stuff, which is why he chose it. He needed some peace and quiet. The person in the doorway was a girl, a new student. She had come to the school a week ago and was still settling in. Pete had seen her in some of his classes, but didn't really know a lot about her. "Hi." He said. God, you can't think of anything to say but hi? Smooth… he thought to himself. She glanced at him and around the room. "Hi." She had blonde hair that was pulled back into a rough bun and she was wearing a simple green t-shirt and jeans. They stood there for a minute, Pete being awkward as he usually was around girls.
"Uh, can I sit down?" She asked.
"Oh, sorry." Pete jumped up and started to clear the table of his drawings. "I'm kind of a messy artist." He shoved his papers in his bag and swept his pencils and pens in with them. The girl picked up a stray piece of paper, one of his drawings. "Hey, these are really good." She said. "Thanks, it's just a hobby." She handed him the paper. "Is there anything good to eat around here?" Pete dropped his bag on a chair in the corner and walked to the fridge. He opened it and bent down. He had to bend down because he was about a foot taller than the fridge. It wasn't a characteristic that came with his power; he got his height from his dad.
"On Saturdays? No, not really. There's an old bologna sandwich here that might be edible and some soda pop." The girl grimaced. "Soda pop's fine." He tossed her a can and she caught it. "So, what's your name?" She asked him. "Piotr Rasputian. You can call me Pete though."
"Cool. I'm Beth. I guess it's the routine question around here, but what's your power? I just got here and I don't really know everybody."
"It's cool." He thought it over, trying to describe his power in the best way. "Uh, the best way to describe it is to show you I think."
"Cool. Well, power up or whatever you do." She sat on the chair, sipping her soda and watching him. He chuckled at the power up joke. "Yeah, I guess that's the closest thing anyone's ever come to describing it." The girl looked confused. Pete stood and clenched his jaw, concentrating. He felt the cold metal work its way up his body, turning himself into a veritable fortress that nothing could break. His shirt stretched, more than it had been, and he could hear it ripping. Crap, just what I need, a growth spurt. Now I gotta get some new clothes and I hate shopping. He sighed, a giant depressed metal person. Beth was looking at him with a strange expression on her face.
"I see what you mean about powering up. So, you turn to metal. That's gotta come in handy sometimes." Pete looked at her. "Yeah, sometimes. I'm pretty strong and bigger than most people. It helps when I'm moving big stuff around."
Beth giggled. "I sure hope you don't rust." Pete laughed out loud at that, the first time that day. He slumped down in a chair, not noticing he was still completely metal. The chair immediately broke when he sat down, making him land on the floor with a crash. He got up slowly, looking at the dent he had made in the wooden floor.
"Crap." he said, then 'powered down'. He felt his shirt float loosely around his shoulders. Beth was laughing hysterically at the table. "It wasn't that funny." Pete said, glowering. "I'm sorry, I've been having a bad day and that just cheered me up a lot." She took another drink of her soda. "I'm not great with change and I've had a lot of it the last week." Pete sat down, slowly this time, running his fingers through his short brown hair. "I know what you mean. I wasn't a social butterfly when I came to this school and I was alone for the first couple of months." Beth nodded, agreeing with him.
Pete leaned back against the chair, hearing it groan in protest. "Well, I showed you mine, so what's your power?" Beth looked away from him towards the window where a potted flower stood, still budding and alone in the window. It began to grow and sprout blue flowers, abnormally fast. Soon it was overflowing the pot and branching down to the floor. "I've got control over plants. I guess it's a cool power, not as intimidating as yours though." She smiled at him and he snorted. "I doubt anyone's is." They held each other's glance for a second before looking away, both blushing. Suddenly a boy's voice rang through the halls calling for Pete. Bobby Drake appeared in the door and the two turned to look at him. "Hey Pete we… Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Pete looked at Beth then back at Bobby. "No, what is it?"
"We need some help uh, rearranging some furniture." Bobby coughed a little at that statement and Pete rolled his eyes. "You guys trying to mess with his mind? Remember what happened last time?" Bobby flinched. "Yeah, but this time he'll never know it's us until it's too late! Come on, just help us position it." Beth leaned over to Pete. "What are you guys talking about?" Pete stood. "A little practical joke. Beth, this is Bobby and vice versa. Let's get going before he comes back." He turned to Beth offering her his hand. "You wanna come? It'll be fun, all in the spirit etcetera, etcetera." Beth paused, then grabbed his hand and he pulled her off the stool. They followed Bobby out the door, Pete taking up most of the doorframe, and down the hall.
Beth had come to Xavier's school after her parents had forced her to become somewhat of a hermit. They had taken her out of her old school, afraid someone might find out about her, and started home schooling her. She had had a lot of friends before they cut her off, but had lost them after her parents intervened.
When she came to Xavier's School for Gifted Children she thought maybe this might be a good place for a new start. The students all had the same 'issues' as she did, so they might sympathize. Boy, was she wrong. Sure, there was the random person who said hi to her in the hall trying to be friendly, but other than that people ignored her. Pete was the first person who had made her feel the least bit welcome, and that was by falling on his butt! Gee, if the guy I like has to make me like him by falling down, how am I ever gonna get a boyfriend? I must be really pathetic. She sighed inwardly, following Pete and Bobby down the hall. Well, he looked just as awkward as I felt. Maybe I have a chance with him… Oh stop it Beth, you know what happens when you start thinking like that. Rejection. That's what happens.
Up ahead,Bobby turned a corner. At least Beth thought he did because she couldn't see him since Pete was taking up the entire hallway. They entered a plain room with some furniture and dirty clothes everywhere. Beth half chuckled to herself. "This kinda looks like my room" she explained to the boys when they looked at her. Bobby stood staring at the ceiling, measuring it with his eyes. He kept looking back and forth between furniture, getting very intense about it.
Pete leaned over and whispered to Beth, "This is a very crucial part in the plan, everything must be positioned perfectly." He was so close to her face she shivered a bit, her stomach twisting pleasantly. Stop it, she told herself. It's just going to lead to heartbreak. The other half of her brain argued, but he's really cute. Did you see the way he looked at you in the kitchen? "You mean he can't just schlop all the stuff on the ceiling randomly?" Pete shook his head. "No, he's kind of OCD like that." He looked at her strangely. "Is schlop even a word?" Beth grinned. "I dunno. Sometimes I think my power is the ability to butcher the English language."
Pete was about to say something when Bobby called him over. "Alright Tinman, let's see what you can do with his couch. I want it right there, a little to the left of the light." Pete bent and picked up the couch and turned it upside down, the pillows falling down on his head. Genius, he said in his mind. He stood up straight and pushed the couch to the ceiling.
"This good Bobby?" He asked.
"Perfect." Bobby grinned. He lifted his arms and a stream of ice flowed form his hands to the bottom of the couch, 'icing' it to the ceiling. Once the couch was firmly secured, they moved onto the chair, the bedside table and finally, the bed. Pete grunted a bit with the last one, finally managing to balance it on his head while supporting it with his arms. Once the last piece of furniture was melting to the ceiling, the boys stepped back to admire their handiwork.
"Awesome." Bobby said, rubbing his hands together with glee. "The bastard isn't gonna catch me this time." Pete rolled his eyes. "Yeah cuz it's totally obvious that his stuff WASN'T melted there with ice." He turned to Beth on a sudden whim and said, "Do you wanna go on a walk?" Beth looked a little surprised by his offer, but kindly accepted.
They said good bye to Bobby, who looked like he was about to break out into maniacal laughter any second, and started down the hall towards the main door. They walked in silence, Pete opened the front door for her and she muttered a thank you. They turned and started walking into the maze of hedges that was the school's garden. Pete liked the gardens. Sometimes he would sit at one of the many benches and draw a flower or two. It was early spring and the plants were just budding. They walked past rows upon rows of daylilies, chrysanthemums, petunias and so on.
Finally they reached a small space, enclosed by shrubs, that held a small stone bench and a tiny fountain that trickled water into a pool filled with darting fish. Beth sat down on the bench and Pete stayed standing. They were both silent for a second, taking in the beauty of the plants. Beth always felt at home in gardens, she could almost hear the plants praises for their gardener, someone by the name of Kurt. "Who's Kurt?" Beth asked Pete. He was thinking about how bad his day was and didn't hear her. "Sorry? I was spacing."
"Who's Kurt?"
"Oh, Kurt's one of the teachers. He's a teleporter and the gardener here." Beth sighed, her face drooping. "What's wrong?" Pete said, taking a step towards her. Beth wrestled with her emotions for a second, then stood. "I don't know anybody here. All the students keep ignoring me, the teachers give me bullshit about how they want to help me but they obviously don't want to, the people I've tried to be nice to just shrug me off or get all snobby and up in my face when I didn't do anything, I've just moved here and it's getting to be a hell of a place, and you're the first person who's been the least bit nice to me and I can't even tell you…" At that, she clapped her hands over her mouth stopping her rant and her eyes widened. Ah shit, she thought.
"Can't even tell me what?" Pete said questioningly. Beth lowered her hands slowly, afraid she might start up again. "Nothing, just, nothing. I'm sorry, I have to go." Beth sprinted off down the path, leaving Pete staring after her dumbstruck. She reached a break in the hedges and found herself in another little space. She sat down on the bench with her head in her hands. You were about to say you liked him! The smart half of her brain accused. Yeah, so maybe he does like me, what then? Her impulsive half shot back. But what if he doesn't like you? Then you'd be in for some heavy rejection. She sighed and stared at the ground. She'd probably just ruined what little chances she'd had with the one boy who actually talked to her. She traced her finger through the dirt. This day was not the best of days. Pete would probably never talk to her again.
"Beth?" Beth's head shot up. There was Pete, almost dwarfing the shrubs because he was so tall. Beth blushed. Pete walked over to the bench and sat down next to her, so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He looked into her eyes, leaned in, and kissed her. Beth was shocked. A) She had never been kissed before B) Pete had only just met her C) She was having a bad day, so why was this happening and D) Pete was really cute.
She sat there, frozen, as Pete pulled away. He turned away and muttered something about being sorry. Beth shook her head, trying to rid her brain of the separate arguments that were going on in her head. Shut up! She ordered. She placed her hand on Pete's shoulder and he turned his body so he was looking at her. Beth took a breath, leaned in, and placed her lips against his.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then fireworks went off in Pete's mind. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Her arms snaked around his neck and she kissed him back. They were so wrapped up in each other they didn't notice the plants that had begun to twist themselves around their legs, holding them in place. They drew away from each other, staring at the other person. Beth had never felt like this before. It felt like her stomach was shrinking, and then growing again rapidly. Her hands were shaking and she didn't know if she could stand up. Pete was feeling almost the exact same way. He could feel his skin shivering and had to concentrate extra hard to not go all metal on her. They were both grinning and blushing like idiots.
Suddenly, Pete looked down at his feet. They were both covered in plants from the waist down. They tried to move heir feet, but they couldn't. Beth started to laugh. "We just seem to get in the most awkward positions, don't we?" Pete smiled. "Yeah, I guess it's both of our awkward powers working together." Beth reached out and said "I guess I should tell them to let go, we wouldn't want anyone to find us like this." Pete grabbed her hand, and her stomach went into spasms again. "I really don't care if people find us here or not. My day can't get any worse than it already has been." He leaned over and kissed her again.
His tongue grazed over her lips and into her mouth. She could feel the plants get restless, but she didn't care. Like Pete had said, her day couldn't get any worse. She moved her hands up his biceps, which were huge, and onto his shoulders. They sat there, chained by flora to the stone bench, when suddenly it started to rain. Pete tore away from her lips and glanced up. "I guess I was wrong about the whole bad day thing." He said. Beth looked at him, staring at the sky while the rain soaked his white t-shirt, pressing it against his toned muscles. She shivered, but not because of the rain. Pete glanced at her and misinterpreted her shiver. "We should get inside before we both catch cold."
He did his whole 'metal up' thing and broke through the plants that were keeping them hostage. He pulled her up and went back to his human form. He began to walk back through the hedges, but Beth grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her, into a short and sweet kiss. When they pulled away, Beth smiled at him. "Thanks, for everything. My day's gotten a whole lot better." Pete looked at her, hair sopping wet from the rain, clothes damp and clinging to her, and grinned. "Me too."
Well you are the one the one that lies close to me
Whisper's hello I miss you quite terribly
I fell in love, in love with you suddenly
Now there's no place else I could be but here in your arms