cooties Who: Colossus / Zap When: Sunday, February 24th, 2008 Where: locker rooms What: discussing their relationship Status: in progess Rating: PG-13/R
It felt so, so good to tear off her damned X-suit and shower. God, between the thought of sleep on the floor of an office building elevator and spending the afternoon in a vehicle with a pair of snakes, she was ready to get clean. The thought of the savage, infected cannibals didn't help the dirty feeling. When she was done - half an hour later - she toweled off and buried herself in a set of X-centric sweats, then pulled on the slip-on shoes she'd worn down to the locker room before the mission. She stuffed the dirty clothes from before through the laundry shoot (which oddly enough, shot up) and made for the door. She was debating even brushing her hair or teeth - the thought of a quiet room and a soft bed made her want to nod off right there. When she pushed through the door, she nearly jumped back into it. There was Piotr, sitting on the floor with his knees up in the air and his back to the wall. With wide eyes, "Hey."
"Hey," Wow, a half hour of thinking about what he was going to say to Zap and 'Hey' was the first thing to come out of his mouth. He'd been waiting about fifteen, the last ten on the floor. The last twenty four hours had been something of an awakening for Colossus. He hadn't realized how much he cared for Zalika. In the months leading up to the 'end of the world', the two had grown close. Mostly because of the growing relationship been their roommates. But it was more than just that, the pair had something special. Pete was a believer in fate and their roommates might have helped it along. Well, them and an elevator.
Before the Cure Virus there didn't seem to be a rush, Pete supposed that's why neither of them were in much of a hurry. They just had fun with the time they had together. Now, everyone was so busy. It was no wonder they were torn apart. Pete was just grateful he'd been reminded of what they'd had.
He jumped up to his feet. "Hey..." He repeated. "Mind if I walk you to your room?" Suave, nice. Brian would be so proud.
Zap quirked an eyebrow and smiled slightly, "I was going to the kitchen," lie, "but you can walk me wherever you want." He had stood, and she had to set her sights higher now. She was grinning.
"Oh." The mention of the kitchen did make his stomach grumble, but bed still seemed to more obvious choice, in his mind at least. He gave a half smile and nodded, "I bet the puppies probably miss you." He motioned toward the elevator.
"I was thinking about them when I was getting cleaned up," she recalled, "Eddie keeps them really well. I think they're gonna get fat." She grinned and gave a small laugh before heading for the lift. "For the record, I'm going to bed. I was just messin' with you."
"I was thinking the same thing," er, "but not with, I meant. Alone. But not that-uh."
Zap reached across the space between them and grabbed Piotr's elbow. She held tight and gave his arm a waving wiggle before inspecting it closer. "Did you leave it in Russia?" Her lips were pinched tight in a smirk to keep from laughing.
"Huh?"
"Your uh, funny bone."
Pete gave a laugh, finally, and felt his shoulders drop as he relaxed. That was one of the reasons he liked being around Zap so much. She could always make him laugh. Now that his tension had broken, he felt a little more confident. "Anywhere I want, huh?"
"Within reason." Zap remarked as she stepped into the elevator before Colossus.
"So, what if I want to come with you?"
"Do you?" she wondered.
"Da."
"Oh." The lift stopped at the first floor and the doors opened. She felt her stomach flip around, and it wasn't because of the elevator this time. "That'd be okay. Yeah."
Pete was ecstatic, but tried not to let it show too much. He smiled to Zalika and stepped out of the elevator. "Good." When they reached the door to her room, Piotr allowed her to approach the door first. He would've opened it for her, but she had a roommate who might've been inside.
Zap poked her head in the door and frowned a little when she didn't hear the familiar scuffle of puppy barks and claws coming toward the opening. They must've been outside with Edana. "Coast is clear. No Catwomen or puppies to speak of. Just Rex." The cat was across the room atop his kitty!castle looking annoyed by their presence and painfully regal.
She ducked in, leaving the door open for Pete, and made for her hairbrush. If she was going to be awake for any amount of time, she was going to look half decent in the meanwhile. She pushed the tangles out of the wet strands and pulled it back into a ponytail, "You can sit, ya know." Half of the things in the room were his or Brian's anyway. Movies, games, books, clothes. There might as well have been a tunnel connecting the two.
Pete stepped into the bedroom after Zap gave the all clear. He closed the door behind him without hesitation. Pete crossed the room and sat on the end of Zalika's bed just as Zalika had spoke, he knew. He watched her brush her hair for a moment. "Vy ochen' krasivy, Zalika." Pete said, deciding to go for it and just say what he was feeling, "You're beautiful. I've missed you these past few months." He couldn't believe it had been so long, damned 'Darkseekers'. "I didn't..." a pause, "we didn't..." He took a deep breath and mustered the courage. "I just need you in my life again, I need you a lot."
She was bombarded with words - of the flattering kind. She blinked a few times, as if she'd been blinded by the flash on a camera. Her mental image of the situation came to focus and she knew she must have been bright red in the face, "Piotr." She felt her brow furrow with the weight of the compliments and the sentimentality of it all. Of course she felt the same way - hell, she even thought he was beautiful. She moved from where she stood to the end of her bed where Pete had sat down, and sat beside him, the side of her leg against the side of his. She put her face against the front of his arm, her nose pointing into the side of his chest and she closed her eyes while her hands found one of his. Instead of a wordy response, she just gave a contented sigh and snuggled close, feeling enormously relieved that he had addressed their situation - and without her taking the initiative.