A/N - This chapter was so hard for me to write for some unknown reason. However, I eventually managed to work my way through it. Better late than never I guess, eh? Thanks for your patience guys! I can't believe how many amazing reviews I've been getting. :D
Much to her disappointment, Kitty was awake at the ass crack of dawn on a Saturday morning. She spent a half an hour trying to force herself back to sleep unsuccessfully, before giving up and rolling out of bed. She shuffled out to the living room in her over sized night shirt and shorts, squinting at the sun beaming in through the patio window with a yawn, noticing that oddly enough, she was not the first one awake.
She grabbed the golden yellow afghan off the back of the couch and moved over to the patio, sliding the door open quietly and peeking her head out with a tired smile,
"Good morning."
Piotr looked up from his easel and gave a wry grin, "Oh look, she is wearing clothes." He said, turning his attention back to his painting.
Kitty frowned, stepping outside and wrapping the afghan around her shoulders and sliding the door shut behind her, "I'm really sorry Pete-"
He gave his head a shake and cut her off, "You do not need to apologize Katya. I should have known better than to bring her home without warning."
"I hope you didn't get in too much trouble." Kitty hugged the blanket around her body tightly and leaned back against the guard rail.
"No," Piotr smiled, "I did not get in trouble."
"Good." She nodded thoughtfully for a moment before adding, "It would have been nice if you'd have told her I was a chick, you know."
"I assumed she understood Kitty was a 'chick name'." He frowned, going back to his painting.
Kitty turned her attention to the canvas watching him paint in silence. He was busy mixing colours to get the perfect shade of yellow for the glowing sunlit sky, captivating her by how effortlessly he was able to capture the beauty of nature with paint. Every detail down to the droplets of dew on on the leaves in the foreground was accounted for, and the entire canvas seemed to glow, as if lit from within. Kitty grinned to herself as she watched him work.
"I think this is the longest you have ever been quiet." Piotr mused with a smirk.
"Nah, I'm pretty quiet while I'm sleeping."
He looked up at her, noting that she was admiring his work so closely and inclined his head towards the canvas.
"Do you like it?" He asked modestly and Kitty furrowed her brow,
"Oh Peter," She shook her head and let out a dreamy breath, "I more than like it. It's beautiful."
"It is not finished..."
"It doesn't have to be." She grinned, moving next to him and leaning down to look at the painting from over his shoulder, "It's... luminous." She chuckled, resting her chin on his shoulder, "It's effervescent."
"Someone has been reading the Thesaurus, yes?"
Kitty let out another breath and knit her brow, "I can't get over how amazingly talented you are."
"I am not so sure I am that amazing." He sighed and shook his head, "This is taking too long."
"You can't rush perfection." Kitty smiled, bumping her head against his playfully, "At least that's what Remy tells me every morning when he's taking forever doing his hair in the bathroom."
Piotr cracked a grin despite the furrow on his brow, "The show opens in two weeks. I still have three paintings to complete, and it takes me twice as long to work with my hand-"
"Hush." Kitty swatted his arm, "You're over thinking, Pete. You're going to finish. And everyone is going to love you."
He rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head, "It is a good thing you are optimistic."
"I'm not optimistic, Pete. I'm realistic." She rubbed his arm with a smile, turning her attention to his hand. "It's still bothering you."
"Yes. It is getting better, but it feels stiff." He set his paintbrush down and picked up a rag to clean his hands.
"Let me see." She said, taking his hand before he could offer it. She knit her brow as she inspected the partially healed wound on his hand. "It's probably just tight because it's healing. Your skin's pulling. It looks really good though." She nodded, "But you should probably cover it up while you're painting, silly."
Piotr smiled, "You do not think acrylic is good for my wound?"
"Well I mean, I'm no doctor." She shrugged casually.
"You are quitting your job on Monday, are you not? Perhaps you could get a job in a hospital, work your way up the ranks to head surgeon?"
Kitty's eyebrows shot up and her eyes twinkled with laughter, "Oh! He's a funny guy now!"
Piotr grinned as he gently cleaned the paint off his injured hand.
"You go ahead and laugh at me, but I'm telling you, I could do it."
"If anyone could Katya, it would be you."
Kitty snorted and stood upright, "Thanks big guy. Although, I'm starting to re-think my impulse decision to quit based on cheap cologne."
"I figured you would." He nodded as he began to pack up his supplies.
"I've already invested so much money into turtlenecks. If I quit, what am I going to do with all those turtlenecks?"
"You could save them for a hickey day."
Kitty let out a laugh and shook her head as she moved back to the balcony door, "I don't foresee any of those in my near future, and I'd really hate my old lady turtlenecks to go to waste."
"I do not see any problem with your turtlenecks, I think they are nice." Piotr shrugged as he wiped the excess paint from his paintbrush onto the rag.
"Says the guy who tried to get me to wear my prom dress to work." She replied with a wry grin, sliding the balcony door open and stepping back inside.
"You asked for my help." Piotr informed him, following her in.
Kitty let out an unattractive snort, "Uh, no. I'm pretty sure I didn't."
"Sure you did."
"Well I'd hardly consider that help." Kitty chuckled, "It was more of a hindrance than anything."
Piotr looked past her and his face lit up, "Anya, I was going to let you sleep in."
Kitty turned and saw Anya standing at the end of the hall, fully dressed in her pink silk shirt and skinny jeans, ready for the day at 7 am.
"I am not used to sleeping in." She informed them stiffly, lifting her chin with her hands folded in front of her. "I thought we could go out for breakfast."
"Yes, of course." He nodded, "I will go clean up. Give me ten minutes and we can go."
Anya nodded with a thin smile and Piotr crossed the living room, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed her down the hall.
Kitty gave Anya a big grin, trying to ignore the fact that the red head looked practically pristine, whereas she was likely sporting some pretty nice bedhead having literally just rolled out of bed.
"So!" Kitty began, walking over to the kitchen in her socked feet, "Can I get you anything, Anya?"
"No thank you." She declined politely, standing perfectly still as she watched Kitty move around the kitchen.
"You can sit down." Kitty said, gesturing to the seats at the island counter.
Anya hesitated, quickly glancing at the living room before coming to sit down at the kitchen.
"Did you want a coffee?" Kitty offered as she sat across from her with a bowl of cereal.
"No. Thank you." Anya declined again, "I do not drink coffee."
"Oh." Kitty nodded as she swirled her spoon through her Honeycombs, "You don't buy into that whole, it'll stunt your growth junk, do you? Because I gotta say, I'm pretty sure the jury is still out on that one." She smirked.
"No." Anya replied simply.
"I'm not allowed to drink coffee." Kitty shook her head as she took a bite, "The guys say it makes me too high strung." She rolled her eyes.
Anya nodded and looked away, straightening her back and elegantly folding her hands on her lap.
"So..." Kitty began, attempting to keep the conversation alive, "You're a ballerina."
Anya pursed her lips and gave Kitty a single nod, clearly not as eager to participate in idle chit chat.
"That's pretty cool. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a kid. But then I hit puberty and realized that it probably wasn't the most stable career choice." Kitty snorted and took another bite of cereal, realizing only then how her comment may be received as condescending. "For me." She added with a mouth full of Honeycombs to clarify.
"Yes." Anya lifted her chin and cast her gaze towards the hallway with a sigh, "Puberty is a difficult time for most dancers. It becomes much harder to control your weight." She turned back to Kitty and gave her a flat smile, "In general."
Kitty blinked at Anya for a moment before nodding, in spite of the distinct feeling that she had just been insulted.
She turned her attention back to her cereal and endured the awkward silence for a few more minutes until she was finished her breakfast. She stood and moved to the sink, disposing of her bowl and turning back towards Anya with a frown.
"Are you sure I can't get you anything? Some juice? Milk?"
"I am a vegan. I do not eat or drink anything from an animal." Anya replied, glancing at her watch as she spoke, "And juice is very high in sugar."
Kitty smiled, "You'll get along great with Remy. He's constantly going on about all that healthy eating crap."
At the mention of his name, Anya looked back up at Kitty with her perfectly manicured brow puckered, "Could I ask you something?" She began, leaning forward and lowering her voice a notch as if the room were bugged, "Are you comfortable living with... you know..."
Kitty quirked her eyebrow, "Guys?"
"Mutants." Anya whispered.
"Um..."
"It does not seem safe to me." Anya continued.
Kitty knit her brow and frowned, "How much have you and Pete talked about this?"
She sat up straighter and looked back to Kitty with a nod, "Oh, I know that Piotr is one of them. We have agreed that he will not show me his... mutation."
"Oh." Kitty looked down, "Okay."
"But that Remy person..." Anya shook her head, looking towards the hall again, "I do not like the way he looks at me. It is unsettling."
"You'll get used to his eyes." Kitty replied carefully, "Besides, he's not the one you really have to worry about."
As if on cue, Pyro came to a stop at the end of the hall with his hair standing up in every direction, stretching dramatically with an unnecessarily wide yawn.
"Morning." He mumbled as he rubbed a hand over his face and through his messed up hair.
"We have company." Kitty spilled quickly, before Pyro got around to scratching his junk. His eyes blinked open and he grinned when he noticed Anya.
"Ahh, the tiny dancer!" He gave her a wink, "Got lucky last night, didja?"
"John." Kitty clipped with a warning look.
He held his hands up innocently and sat down next to Anya, "Just pointin' out the obvious."
Anya leaned away from Pyro slightly and Kitty shook her head, "Well, don't."
Pyro plopped his elbow on the counter and dropped his chin onto his fist with a big grin, "So, ya got some prima ballerina gal pals you could introduce to ol' Pyro?" He asked with an eyebrow wag.
"...No." Anya said, looking at Pyro through the corner of her eye cautiously.
"I'm sure ya do. I'm quite the catch, ain't that right Kitty?"
"Nope."
"Sure I am!" Pyro scoffed, "I'm tall, dark and handsome, sensitive, smart-"
Kitty snorted, "None of those things describe you."
"-And I'm incredibly talented." Pyro continued, ignoring Kitty, "I can play the banjo, which is actually a lot harder than you'd think. I can curl my tongue, like this." He demonstrated for Anya, "And you should see what I can do with fire." His eyes glimmered with slightly manic excitement.
"She doesn't want to see that, Pyro." Kitty shook her head firmly.
"'Course she does, everyone does. Y'got a lighter on ya, Sheila?"
"I do not smoke. And my name is Anya." She grimaced, glancing towards the hall longingly.
"Remy's got one in his coat pocket." He looked around with a frown, "Where'd he drop that thing...?" He spied the dirty brown coat hanging off the back of the grey arm chair and snatched it up, digging through the pocket for the little Bic lighter at the bottom.
"Pyro..." Kitty said warningly, "She doesn't want to see."
He pulled the lighter out with a wide grin and flicked it to life. "Watch this." He instructed, proceeding to demonstrate his unique skill, "A flower for m'lady?"
Anya leaned back away from Pyro, "No! I do not-"
"Y'know Mario right? They have Nintendo in Russia, right?" He knit his brow thoughtfully, before nodded by means of response to his own question, "You know what happens when Mario finds a flower?"
"Pyro, no." Kitty demanded, hurrying around the counter to attempt to reason with him. Unfortunately, she was a second too late, and had barely made it around when he threw a fireball with a slightly psychotic laugh, effectively setting the couch on fire.
Kitty was frozen in place, rendered speechless by the shock of watching their couch in flames, Anya was stuck to her seat staring in horror, and Pyro was mesmerized by the pretty orange flames, when Remy marched down the hall in his boxer briefs with a fire extinguisher under his arm.
He aimed the nozzle at the couch and quickly snuffed out the flames before dropping the extinguisher and scowling at Pyro.
"Dammit John!"
"I'm sorry-"
"What is the rule?!" He snapped.
"No fire inside." Pyro pouted, "I just wanted to show Anya..."
Remy noticed Anya's overwhelmed face for the first time, and let out a deep breath, "Are you okay?"
The smoke alarm began to screech, brought to life by the thick cloud of smoke produced by the burnt upholstery, cutting Anya off before she could answer.
Piotr came to a stop at the end of the hall, taking in the sight of the smoky living room and charred couch, turning his eyes to Anya who still appeared to be in serious shock. He crossed over to her, sending Pyro a sharp glare as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders,
"There is only one rule Pyro! One!"
"I know, but-"
"What is the matter with you people?!" Anya shouted suddenly, "You freaks!"
"It was just an accident." Remy rubbed a hand over his tired face, "No need for name calling, chere."
"An accident?!" She jumped up off the stool and coughed, waving the black smoke away from her face, "I could have been killed!" She turned to to Piotr, "I could have died!"
"I wasn't aiming at you." Pyro said sheepishly.
"And him." She tossed a hand towards Remy, "Walking around in his... underwear." She hissed the word as if it were dirty.
Remy smirked, "Never had any complaints about that before."
"And then there is Kitty, who is apparently not a man, and who apparently does not wear clothing either."
Anya lifted her chin, ran her hands down her silk shirt to smooth out any imaginary wrinkles and stormed out of the apartment.
Piotr worked the muscles in his jaw and stared daggers at Pyro. "This is why I do not bring women home."
"Lesson learned, eh mate?" Pyro snorted, flinching when Piotr made a tiny move towards him.
Piotr turned around and stormed out after Anya, leaving the smoke filled apartment in a very pregnant silence.
"Okay," Kitty said eventually, "I just have to point out that I am clearly wearing clothes this time."