A.N.: Hey guys! Here's the chapter that is due up today, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now.

-'I Believe In A Thing Called Love', The Darkness (Branches cover)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

X.x.X

"Are you sure about this?" he asks you, bandaging his hands then passing the tape to you. You take it with a nod, gesturing to the building crowd of students. You graduated from the school a year and are back from college for summer vacation. Your parents offered for you to come home- you're sure they would have preferred it- but the Institute had started to feel more like home. Plus you had a promise to keep, people to see and a battle to win. You'd never been able to beat Peter in all the years you'd trained with him- and you started when you were seventeen. But you'd done some training of your own when you were away and in the few sparring sessions you'd had since you came home you'd come close once or twice. Peter was now a fully-fledged teacher and X-man, an opportunity that had been offered to you as soon as you graduated but you declined for the meantime knowing that your parents wouldn't buy 'hey mom and dad, I'm deferring from college to fight dangerous people with my powers. Who needs an education?'

That would not go down well.

So that you wouldn't be murdered by your parents, you went to a university about three hours away from the Institute, meaning you still had people close by. Not wanting to get behind in training you kept up with it as well as dance at your college, as well as your own training. Determination coursing through you, you nudge him. "Positive."

Walking away from the bench together, you acknowledge the sniggers of some of the older kids of the bunch. "Okay, so, we're going to try something a little different today," you announce to the class. "Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I'm Kitty Pryde, and I was a student here until last year. I'm 19, I'm 5"1 and weigh roughly 110lbs. Peter here," you gesture to your comrade, standing tall with his arms folded across his chest, "Is 24, 6"8 and weighs far too much in my opinion," you tease and he rolls his eyes. "So," you address the crowd, "who thinks I can take Peter in a fight?" There was silence in the room, and you nod in acknowledgement.

"Well today is the day we see if she can," Peter concludes, gesturing for them to stand away from the makeshift ring. You face off, bouncing on the balls of your feet as Peter moves into position. He nods at you with a small smirk that you match with one of your own. With steel in his eyes he charges at you and you make a break for him, dropping to the floor and sliding between his legs at the last second. Having anticipated this move- you always go low, it seemed- Peter reaches down for you quickly, and you use his momentum as he grabs your arms as he swings you up you tuck up your legs then release them as hard as you can into his chest, winding him. He lets go of your wrists in surprise and you topple to the ground, using your hands to backflip into a standing position.

Peter cracks his neck and you go at it again. He's holding back, not using the full strength of his powers on you, this isn't about that. Instead he's using his normal strength level- which is still making it difficult to beat him. You side step the first two swings he takes, twirling into a high kick to his side. He stumbles slightly, and you feel the atmosphere change. He lunges to the side suddenly, swiping low and your legs are swept out from under you. You lose your breath for a second, but knowing if you stay down you'll lose, you quickly tuck behind him and elbow him in the back of the knees, enough to make him falter and it gives you enough time to get up and back into position. You move quickly, ducking and darting around him, both of you sending some solid hits and blows. He gets a hit on your leg that you're pretty sure will bruise for a week and you stumble forward and try to evade Peter's next grab but he takes your arms and twists them behind your back, painful, but not enough to do any real damage.

"Give up yet?" he asks smugly, his chest barely heaving behind you.

You shake your head. "Never."

With that you phase quickly through his arms, spinning and shooting your hand up to punch him in the throat, then snap your elbow into his chest, winding him. He wavers and you promptly knee him in the groin, earning a giggle from the students. As he leans forward, his hands coming down, you spring, lodging your foot in his hand and pushing yourself up, your hands gripping his shoulders as you swing your legs up onto his shoulders and around his neck, faltering his already wavering balance, leaning your weight forward to drag him forward.

As you expected, he leans back to steady himself, and you concentrate on phasing his feet through the floor and then lean back sharply, your thighs squeezed around Peter's neck as he falls backwards to the floor with a thump. You hear the students gasp as you disappear and reappear up through the ground near Peter's feet. Satisfied, you flash him a triumph grin. "What was that about giving up?"

Peter begrudgingly thumps the floor in defeat and you lean down and take Peter's hand to help him up, his feet landing on solid ground. "First rule of beating the unbeatable opponent," you announce to the gobsmacked class, "there are no rules. The people you're fighting out there won't hold back, and neither should you. You use whatever resources and skills you have and non-lethal force to take them down."

Peter continues for you. "I know it may be intimidating if you see someone as big as me come at you, but strength and size doesn't necessarily mean the bigger person would win. Speed and agility can be just as good, if not better."

"Use their strength and turn it into a weakness," you reaffirm. "Exploit that. Most likely, if they see someone small coming to fight them, they'll think they're weak." You turn your eyes to meet the gaze of everyone. "Prove them wrong."

As the session ends and everyone files out, you can't help but smile when you overhear one student muttering to another, "she used him like a freaking climbing frame."

You stroll over to Peter, whose looking at you amusedly. "Got something to say, Kitty?" he asks and you grin, jumping up and down in triumph.

"HA!" you cackle, clapping. "I took you down. I, Kitty Pryde, actually physically took down Peter Rasputin."

Peter rolls his eyes. "Don't get used to it, Katya, I wasn't expecting that phasing stunt you pulled," he stated and it's your turn to roll your eyes.

"Please, you're just pissed I caught you off guard and pulled a fast one on you- wait, Katya?" you ask in confusion, and Peter turns red.

"It's a nickname," he explains, embarrassed. "It's Russian. It was a slip of the tongue, sorry," he apologises and you shake your head.

"No," you say slowly. "No, don't be sorry. I like it. It sounds….beautiful."

"Yes," he agrees, glancing at you. "It is." Taking the tape off his hands, he speaks again. "So," he says causally, "I wasn't expecting that foot thing." You winced and pull a face.

"Yeah, sorry about…that whole thing," you gesture to him, feeling the heat rush to your own face.

"No, don't be," he coughs. "It was…efficient." You gesture your head in agreement and Peter speaks again. "And I really wasn't expecting the…thigh thing," he gestures and you grin.

"Yeah, sorry about that Pete. We'd been working on me being able to flip you but it just wasn't working, and this does."

"And do you practice that with all your sparring partners?" he asks teasingly and you frown.

"No, actually. The only other person I've done it with is my dance partner."

Peter- who had been drinking from a water bottle- nearly choked. "You tried that death grip on your dance partner?" he asks incredulously, and you can't help but laugh.

"No, god no. We were practicing a move similar- it was a dismount in practice, actually- where I'm supporting myself on his shoulders, lost my balance and wrapped myself around him on instinct and brought us both crashing down. Not graceful," you surmise, "but as you say- efficient. He became my human Guinea pig."

"Glad you found him so helpful," Peter says stiffly, and you snort at his petty jealousy.

"Yeah, his boyfriend finds him helpful too."

Peter winces, realising he was being jealous. "Sorry," he mutters and you shrug.

"Don't be. I'm sure Dave will get over it, and he's probably just happy I'm not torturing him anymore." Silence over takes the two of you as you pack and tidy in silence, and when it's done and everything is away, you speak up after a moment's hesitation.

"So," you ask, "what do I win?"

Peter cocks his head at you. "Pardon?"

"I beat you in a fight, I should get a prize," you state.

Peter laughs, shaking his head. "Okay then. What do you want?"

You bite your lip and nod your head. "You dropped something down there, Pete," you say and he bends to pick it up, and as he's getting back up you lurch forward and kiss him square on the mouth. Peter drops his gym bag in surprise and his arms instinctively wrap around you as he stands, fitting together the way you always should have. When you break away, Peter looks at you in confusion.

"Bobby?" he questions, having known about your crush for years. You shake your head, your hands caressing his face.

"Nope. Never, really. I guess it just took going away to see what was there all along," you say shyly, willing him to believe you.

"Katya," he says roughly, "what do you want?"

You smile up at him and with total certainty in your voice, you answer him. "You, Piotr. I want you."

Peter breathes shakily, searching your face. "Say that again."

"I want you, Piotr."

Hearing you say those words and his name in his mother tongue seems to light something within him, and he's leaning down and pressing his lips to yours with urgency. When you finally part again, he sighs into your hair. "I've been waiting a long time for you to say that