Shiny

Chapter 14

A knock sounded on the door. "Come in." Piotr said gently, setting his paints in front of the immaculately clean canvas set on the easel. Kitty entered the room. "Illyana is downstairs, playing tea while watching 'Anastasia.' She's so funny. She laughs hysterically whenever that dog... Pooka... is on the screen."

Piotr blinked, processing what Kitty told him, as if he had misheard. After his request, she repeated it. Knowing he heard correctly, he nodded with amusement. "I don't blame her. 'Pooka' means 'fart' in Russian."

"Oh. That makes much more sense." Kitty giggled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to start a new painting."

"Can I watch?"

"Of course."

Red mixed with blue and was slowly spread across the canvas. The paintbrush pushed the pigments down as it danced across the stretched fabric. He had been sitting there for hours, working on the painting, which Kitty silently read comics on his bed. The tick of the clock, the occasional flick of the page and the slushing of water as Piotr cleaned his brushes were the only sounds in their silent symphony. That is, until the artist suddenly stopped painting and leaned back in his chair with a frustrated sigh.

Kitty looked up from the panels and cocked her head. "What's the matter?"

Running a hand through his hair, Piotr breathed in deeply. "I don't know. It does not seem right. There are certain feelings that I wished to convey, but on the whole it is," He paused, searching for the right word, "Emotionless." Pushing his chair away from the easel, he rose and stretched, working the stiffness out of his limbs that had collected from the hours spent sitting there.

"I think it looks beautiful, Peter."

He walked over to the bed and sat down, giving her a thanking, but half-hearted, smile. Kitty jumped into his lap and locked her arms around her neck. She needed to cheer him up, and had the perfect way to do so.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

Piotr looked up swiftly at her, and then broke out in a large grin. "Da." He replied. "And I love you."

"Of course," Kitty giggled and pulled his face to hers.

Piotr sighed happily and drew her into him, his hands planted firmly on her hips. Her hands alighted on the small of his back and traveled upwards, underneath the light fabric of his tee shirt. As her hands climbed, his descended, stroking her thigh. Piotr vaguely felt his shirt being phased through his body and slightly heard the dull sound as it hit the floor. His hands moved to the skin on her back exposed between her shirt and jeans. Over her back they went, reveling in the soft touch of her skin. Kitty gasped inwardly, but continued her own exploration, lightly tracing the outlines of his muscles which caused the Russian to groan.

It was as if that groan flicked on a light of realization and clarity in Piotr's mind, as he suddenly stopped. A heavy sigh slowly escaped his lips as he pulled away, releasing his hands from underneath her shirt, and sat upright on the bed.

"Why did you stop?" Kitty asked, a little hurt.

He tilted his head back to look at her. Her hair was mussed, her shirt was wrinkled, as she sat grasping her ankles. Piotr found that he had to look away. "Katya." His voice was lowly and slightly raspy. "You know we can't."

Her brow furrowed. "No. I'm not sure that I do."

"I... it's not right."

Kitty crawled up behind him and encircled her arms around his neck. "I don't see a problem. I love you, you love me. We're both of legal age..." Her words trailed off.

The tickling of her breath on his bare back sent a shiver of excitement up and down his body, which he tried desperately to ignore. "I realize that, Katya. It is just that... this is not the proper place or time."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... why should we rush things? Someday..." He guided her hand up to his mouth, kissing it softly.

"Someday." She echoed his words, phasing through him, resting on his legs. "You're right." She finally said.

He chuckled. "And I though you were supposed to be the genius."

She playfully socked Piotr in the shoulder. They sat in each other's arms, synchronizing their breathing. "So where do we go from here?"

Piotr smiled and placed tender kisses on her neck. "I can think of a few things to do while we wait."

She giggled. "Come here, you." and pulled him down after her on the bed.

A crash from outside brought them into reality. Kitty and Piotr exchanged one quick and frantic glance before she grabbed his arm and phased them both through the floor. Everything seemed all right in the kitchen and the entry way. But it was in the rec room where the pair found the source of the crash.

Shattered glass and shredded upholstery littered the floor. "Illyana?" Kitty yelled frantically, noticing the broken remains of a china tea set. She worriedly grasped Piotr's hand. "Peter..." She managed the squeak out before she looked at his face. The brunette followed his cold stare into the corner of the room and gasped, horrified. There lay the little blonde, a pole sticking through her middle.

Piotr vaguely heard Kitty calling frantically for Dr. McCoy, but all he was stand there, completely rigid. He couldn't feel anything. Not the cold breeze from the shattered window, not the texture of Hank's fur as he hurriedly brushed by him. Not even the screaming of his brain for lack of oxygen after he had stopped breathing.

Her face red and tear stained, Kitty knelt beside Illyana's body as Dr. McCoy checked for a pulse. A heavy thud drew her attention. She turned around and found Piotr collapsed on the ground passed out cold.

Piotr awoke on a large chair with a blanket thrown over him, and an annoyingly bright light shining in his eyes. He was in a large room he had never seen before, but judging from the instruments and beeping machines he was in some sort of medical lab and the bright light was coming from overhead. He stood up and hugged the blanket around his shoulders, suddenly aware of how cold he was. Piotr looked around and made his way over to a long table in the middle of the room.

The lights around it were dimmed, unlike the rest of the bright ones he woke up to. Upon it lay Illyana, under a thin blanket with a breathing mask on her face. Her lips were dry and her face was white. He placed his palms next to her side, leaning over the little girl. Piotr gravely stared at her and the heart monitor, which weakly registered her heartbeats.

"Kitty." He whispered, hearing light footsteps come up behind him.

"She's been like that for a couple hours now." She was hugging her arms tightly.

"And how long was I unconscious?"

"About seven. I don't know." She slowly walked to the bed, a few feet from Piotr's left.

"Will she..."

"We don't know. She might not make it through the night. She lost a lot of blood. Dr. McCoy managed to stabilize her but..." Her eyes began to water. "We just don't know."

Piotr's hand hovered over his sister's face, but he drew it back and tightened it into a fist. "Everyone's lives would be fine, if it weren't for me and my incurable stupidity."

"Stop it." Kitty mumbled.

"Nyet. I have ruined my family. I have..."

"STOP IT PETER!" Kitty shouted, her face red and wet. "It is NOT your fault. It is an egotistical and twisted maniac's fault. Stop playing the tragic hero! You're better than that and I can't handle listening to it. I can't handle you losing heart... Blaming yourself will not help anything. So stop it!"

Piotr looked at her blankly, seeming to process her words. "I have to talk to the Professor." He turned and left Kitty alone with her tears.

(A/N:

Lots happened in this chapter.

The obligatory "We can't have sex yet" chapter.

I didn't like writing it... but its OBLIGATORY. So I spiced it up with some more moments.

And... I'm getting major depressed, so except more stories and junk. Its how I deal, ok?

BTW, I got accepted into CSU the other day. Class of 2009!!!

Shoutouts:

The Uncanny R-man: Yeah... a little Logan/Ororo. I think they would be so cute together! So... adult. To contrast the raging hormones in the relationships of the teenagers around them. Man. I can't wait to grow up.

Freelancer– thank you for your praise, Sensei.

B– I've always wanted a mural in my room. Or somewhere in the house. And I've always wanted a big brother. So Illyana has two things I don't. Lucky kid.

Lia Fail– Don't worry, I'm not going to make them break up or whatever. I'm not that mean. And... it would probably make ME really depressed. I don't want to be the cause of whatever drives me over the edge. ) And, at least you meet guys to measure up to Piotr. I rarely meet any. The closest friendship I've had to a boy in the last year or so is the KFC drivethrough guy. But College next year! Woo hoo! Boys galore!)