Paint By Numbers
Chapter 8
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"What'd that tree ever do to you?" Logan asked, watching the young Russian repeatedly slice the pine's trunk with his ax, each forceful stroke a precise, methodical motion, giving it the appearance of a act of personal meditation.
"Wolverine, not to be rude, but don't you have someplace else you'd rather be?" Colossus asked, irritated over the intrusion on his solitude.
"Nope," the feral mutant said as he sat down on top of a fallen log covered in shade and lit a cigar. The light from the flame illuminated parts of his face, giving him an even more intimidating appearance than usual.
"Pity," Colossus muttered, returning to chopping the tree, determined to ignore the presence of his unwanted companion.
"Figured it's about time I started makin' the rounds, make sure were clear on a few things. I already had a chat with the Cajun earlier this mornin'," Logan growled from his place in the shadows.
"And exactly what is it that's on your mind?" Piotr asked in between chops.
"Same thing that's got you hacking the hell outta that tree."
Peter put the blade of the ax down and rested against the handle. "Katya," he sighed, his heart a jumble of emotions at the mere thought of her.
Logan nodded. "The two of ya were lookin' pretty chummy in the Danger Room today. And ya had plenty of time to get cozy when you dragged her off to Siberia with ya." Wolverine resisted the urge to smirk as he saw a look of confusion pass briefly across the young man's face. He knew the boy had been expecting questions from him, not to hear him state simple observations. But Wolverine was much more interested in peoples reactions then their words. They were much harder to hide, as long as you were quick enough to catch them. He'd seen that same look of confusion cross Gambit's face earlier that day, before it was replaced by the Cajun's usual facade of smug bravado. But even with Logan's skill, he had still found it difficult to read Gambit, a fact that didn't sit well with him. He was hoping Colossus would be easier to figure out.
"You have no need to worry, tovarisch. According to Kitty, we have no relationship." he said, trying to sound cool and detached, but the hint of bitterness in his voice and the flash of hurt in his eyes betrayed him.
"What's the matter Petey? Afraid of a little competition?" Logan goaded.
"Competition? Sometimes I am not even sure if I'm in the running," he said dejectedly, picking the ax back up and swinging it at the tree, faster than before, with less precision.
"Now yer just talkin bullshit."
"And what makes you so certain of that?" he challenged.
"Chuck ain't the only one who knows everything that goes on in this place." He pointed to his ear. "Heightened senses. I hear damn near everything 'round here, and that includes Halfpint's break up with that no good boyfriend of hers. I stayed close enough during that fight to help her if she needed it, almost interrupted it once or twice, but she found a way to keep everything under control on her own."
"Good for her."
"Just cause she had control doesn't mean he didn't hurt her. But it was the kind of hurt I couldn't protect her from. If I had my way, I would have ripped his face off for what he said to her."
Piotr entire face darkened "What did Lance-?"
"That's her business. But I will tell you this; she broke up with him over you, for you. She a good kid, Russkie. Don't screw this up just because you can't get over your inferiority complex. 'Cause if you make her cry, you'll answer to me," Logan threatened, stomping out his cigar and walking away without another word, leaving Piotr alone with his thoughts.
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He found her sitting alone on the lawn, watching Kurt, Remy, Bobby, and four of the others playing a game of basketball. Dusk was settling in, the pink sky illuminating her dark silhouette with a soft yet stoic beauty that Peter found breathtaking. As he walked closer he realized she wasn't watching her friends play basketball, but was instead staring off into the distance with a troubled look on his face, her mouth pursed, moving slightly as she rhythmically sucked her bottom lip. "Good evening, Kitty," he greeted her politely in a quiet voice.
"Oh, hi Piotr," she responded, barely glancing at him, her eyes suddenly becoming fixated on the game in front of her. He sat down a few feet away and silently watched with her, the only sounds between them the hollow thud of basketball against concrete and the muddled yells of their friends shouting over one another.
"Enjoying the game?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.
"It's ok," Kitty replied, hugging her knees to her chest. "But you know me, I'm more of a baseball fan. Go Cubs," she said weakly, mentally chastising herself for sounding like such a dork.
"Da, the Cubs. They...play baseball," he finished lamely, internally scolding himself for coming off like such an idiot.
"That they do," she agreed, her eyes still intent on the game.
"So." Peter looked around. "Nice weather we're having," he commented.
Kitty finally tore herself away from the game and glanced up at the sky. The warm rose colored streaks were fading away to make room for the dark violet hues that would soon dominate the horizon. Overhead, the fluorescent street lights came on automatically to light the basketball court. "Yeah, not exactly a big surprise when you live at a school that comes equipped with it's own personal weather witch. I could stand for it to be a little warmer though," she mused.
"Are you cold?"
"A little," she told him, looking down at a small pile of grass she had ripped out of the ground before Peter had arrived.
"Take my jacket," he offered, taking off his hooded sweatshirt and handing it to her.
"That's ok," Kitty said, hugging her knees even tighter.
"But I don't need it," he protested.
"No," she refused stubbornly.
"Kitty!"
"No!"
"Take it Katya, I insist," Piotr told her firmly.
"Fine," she agreed sullenly, grabbing it from his outstretched hand. Kitty put on the sweater and repositioned herself, cross legged with her hands in the sweatshirt's front pouch. She knew it was one of Piotr's favorite pieces of clothing; the color was faded, the drawstring around the hood was stuck on one side, and there was a small rip on the bottom of the right arm where the sleeve was separating from the cuff. But she didn't mind any of that, or the streak of dirt on the sleeve, or the fact that it was three sizes too big and fell to her knees. She loved it for the simple reason that it smelled like Peter, like pine and fresh air and oil paint. "Than- no wait, spaceeba," Kitty said, thanking him in Russian.
"You're welcome. Just don't get it dirty."
"Like you'd even notice!" she exclaimed, scrunching up her nose at him.
"I'm an artist, Katya. We are very perceptive people." He looked back at the game. "So who is winning?" he asked.
"I think...actually, I don't know. Kurt! Whadsa score?" she yelled over to her friend.
"24-18, us!" he yelled back quickly, trying to keep up with Sam on the court, but stopped when he noticed Colossus. "Hey Peter, you want to join in? We're a player short since we had to kick someone out for cheating."
"I wasn't cheating!" Kitty protested.
"You phased through my block. That's an illegal use of powers!" Bobby accused, joining in the conversation while the game stalled so Roberto could chase the ball, which had rolled out of bounds.
"It was a reflex!" she shot back. Bobby shrugged and went back to the game.
"What, it was!" she said with a small laugh, noticing Piotr's smirk. "You know, you should go play or else Kurt's gonna accuse me of trying to keep you here to sabotage the game in retaliation for getting kicked out. Besides, they need you. Without their powers they really suck."
"Amazing, " Piort noted, watching Scott throw the ball into the hoop, only to have it miss completely. "They're actually worse then the Cubs," he added, standing up. She slapped him on the arm for that comment. He winced and grabbed his the spot she had hit, pretending to be in pain.
"Oh please, that didn't hurt."
"You have caused me great pain. Now I am far too injured to play. I suppose I will simply have to stay here with you."
"Well you can't stay with me for long," she informed him, standing up. "I need to head up to the mansion soon. Me and Rogue and some of the others are having a girls night in. Eat popcorn, paint nails, watch sappy old movies. I know, not very original, but why mess with what works, right? Besides, we're watching Bridget Jones' Diary." He stared at her blankly. "It's this really funny romantic comedy about the usual fluff. You know, girl has to choose between two guys; the one she's had a crush on forever or the new guy who's your basic knight in shining armor. Well actually, she didn't really like the new guy at first, but that was mostly on account that when she first met him at her Aunt Una's Annual New Year's Turkey and Curry Buffet Dinner he was wearing a truly hideous reindeer jumper that his mother had bought him for Christmas and he-"
"Hey Peter! You coming or what?" Kurt yelled from the court.
"I'll be there in a moment," he shouted back before turning back to Kitty. "A knight in shining armor, huh?" he said teasingly, his sapphire eyes twinkling. "I definitely think she should end up with him."
"Oh, so what? You think he's supposed to represent you? I hate to break it to you Mister, but unless you show me a reindeer jumper you're not him," she said, playfully poking him in the chest with her index finger, letting it linger on his chest for a moment longer then necessary before pulling away and folding her arms over her stomach. "So does this mean you're still talking to me then?" she questioned, looking away.
"I was unaware we had stopped, unless, of course, there's a rule about me being able to talk to you as well," Peter said lightly, but she could tell from the look in his eyes he was serious.
"Yo Tin Man! Stop flirting with your girlfriend and help us win this thing!" Bobby yelled.
"You should probably...," she muttered, motioning to court.
"Da," he agreed solemnly, hesitantly moving away. "Uh, Katya?" he asked, running his hand through his hair, "Would you like to go somewhere tomorrow? With me, I mean," Peter asked quickly, his voice full of hope.
"Actually, I kinda think I already have plans tomorrow, so, um, can I like get back to you on that?"
"Oh." His face fell. "Da, of course. I, I should-"
"Yeah. Good luck. And beat Kurt! Oh no wait, you're on his team. Just hit him in the head with the ball then. You can say it was just a really bad pass."
"Ya know, Kit, he's never gonna get the chance to do that if ya don't stop yappin'," Rogue interrupted, walking up behind them. "And Petey, Ah'm surprised at you," she scolded. "You should know by now that if ya give this girl the chance to open her mouth, she's never gonna shut up."
"Of course," Piotr agreed, giving a weak smile. Turning back to Kitty he asked "Perhaps then, Katya, we can do something later, at a time you find acceptable?"
"Yeah, sure," she told him. "Another time." He gave a curt nod and walked off toward the game.
Rogue stared at her friend in disbelief. "Did I just hear right?" she demanded, pulling her toward the house. "He practically asked you out on a date and you said no?"
"It wasn't a date, and I didn't say no. I said I was busy," she corrected.
"Doing what?"
"Stuff," Kitty said evasively.
"What kind of stuff?" Rogue grilled.
"Stuff! And you should be nicer to me. I got the information you wanted."
Rogue stopped walking and looked Kitty in the eyes. "Remy told you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Yeah. Alright, so technically he told Kurt. But I got Kurt to tell me," Shadowcat explained.
"So? Why is that damn swamp rat acting all weird all of a sudden? Not that Ah care, Ah'm just...curious. "
"Really? Well, like I said, Remy told Kurt, which if you think about it is really stupid, considering they don't always even seem to like each other much. But anyway, I got Kurt to tell me, and in exchange he made me play in his stupid basketball game to make the teams even. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get myself kicked out," she told her as the two girls started walking towards the mansion again.
"What happened with Remy?" she asked, as calmly as possible, trying to contain her irritation.
"What, I thought you didn't care," Kitty said innocently. Rogue glared at her. "I'm kidding! Remember, I know you care. I saw you eat three pints of ice cream in one sitting over this. But to be honest, Remy didn't so much tell Kurt as much as hint at it, but I think, well we think, that someone had a little talk with him over the way he treats you. Kurt didn't say who it was though. Coulda been the professor, or maybe even Scott. I figure it was probably Wolvie. I mean, you know Logan. For the feral, unsociable, loner type, he somehow finds a way to meddle in other people's problem's more often than a Jewish yenta. Oh, you know what though? I could have been Kurt doing the overprotective brother thing. I thought it was weird that Gambit would tell him."
"Wait, when did this conversation supposedly happen?" Rogue asked.
"Today," Kitty told her, grabbing her arm and phasing them both into the mansion, not bothering with the door.
"Then that's not it," Rogue said, stopping in the foyer."He's been acting all weird since Muir Island."
"Maybe he got possessed by some powerful crazy mutant Dr. McTaggert had secretly living there," Kitty said sarcastically.
"Sure, that explains it," she said with a wry laugh. "Or maybe you were right earlier. Boys do suck."
"Well," Kitty said, thinking of her knight in shining armor, "maybe not all of them."
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Disclaimer: "X-Men belongs to Marvel and, sadly, not to me. "Bridget Jones' Diary" belongs to Helen Felding and whoever she sold the rights to. By the way, it's a great movie and a great book. Everyone should watch and/or read it.
A/N: What stuff does Kitty's have planned? And What's up with Gambit (would someone please tell me because honestly I don't know). All questions will soon (but not necessarily in the next chapter). Basically, here's what's happening: The original plot of this story is precariously close to being beaten to death, so either I'm going to end it in a few chapters and eventually start on a sequel, or turn it into more of action story that still focuses mainly of Piotr and Kitty, with Rogue and Remy in supporting roles. What I end up doing with Gambit really depends on the direction the story goes in. So please leave a review with your opinion, since I have trouble making decisions on my own. And because I fear change, even more than I fear clowns. Or Vicky the robot girl from "Small Wonder" (Although I did love that theme song).
And for those who left reviews last time, thank you, thank you, thank you! I couldn't believe the reviews I got, you all went way above and beyond on those. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'd say you all uber rock, but I don't think that's a word. But if it was, I would totally use it to describe you.