1963-10-27 - Until The Smoke Clears
Summary: Kitty tries for a normal dinner in the new apartment. Sadly, normal for Kitty means burning dinner. She and Piotr manage something like normal anyway.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
kitty piotr 


It's a peaceful day in Brightwater Court. The streets have been quiet. The apartment complex had been quiet, and the world itself had been at peace.

Enter chaos.

Kitty had made it home early enough to get dinner started and in the oven, set the table, and get some unpacking underway. Gumption, hard work, and excitement made Kitty pleased with her task oriented evening.

Unfortunately, the silence hasn't continued.

The smoke alarm loudly complains as an open window has a tea towel waved in front of it madly. "Come on! SHHHH!" Kitty coaxes the fire alarm.

*

Piotr is on his way home from a long day of looking for work when he hears that noise and he has the sinking certainty that it is coming from his apartment. Oh, Kitty. Good thing there are half a dozen little eateries in walking distance.

He takes the steps two at a time to their floor, then cautiously approaches. He's hoping they won't need to call the fire department. Several doors in their hall are open with people peering out in concern.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Piotr mutters on his way to the door. "Katya?" he calls, as he steps inside. "Is everything all right?"

*

"It's fine!" Kitty calls loudly. "Everything is — " Except she's opening the oven and spraying it full of fire extinguisher foam " — fine!" She sets the extinguisher down and brushes her hair from her face. Her breath rakes in her throat as she puffs in and out.

She waves the smoke away from her face and twists to see Piotr amid the smokiness from their dinner. "Well, mostly fine," she slides oven mitts on her hands and sets the casserole dish on the stovetop. "I got distracted — " she admits softly.

*

"What's the date?" Piotr checks the calendar on the wall by the door. "The twenty-seventh?" He grins at Kitty as he drops his bag so he can cross the room. "Do you think that counts as our very first fire?" He's trying not to laugh when he reaches out to scoop her up in a hug and kiss her on the nose.

*

Kitty's cheeks flush a pale pink at the comment. She shoots him a sheepish smile and wraps her arms around him in return. Her arms tighten around Piotr and she inhales a long breath. With a slow exhale, the grin extends at the kiss on her nose, that is met by a light peck to his cheek. "Probably," she admits softly. "I swear, I was productive — " even with dinner torched, she has gotten tasks completed, and she's tugging on Piotr's hands to pull him into the bedroom. Multiple pictures are hung on the wall where there weren't any that morning. Hilariously, they're hung for Piotr's height rather than Kitty's — quite purposely. "And — AND!" She tugs him again back towards the kitchen and notes, "I got some dishes at the secondhand store and then — " she opens the cupboard to expose a very organized looking cupboard of mismatched dishes.

*

"Perfect." Piotr wraps his arms around her from behind and kisses the top of her head. "It is starting to look like our home. I love it. You know, this was a necessary thing but I did not consider how I would feel about it when it happened," he says thoughtfully. "Both of us have a tendancy to soldier forward?" He stops to think. "No. Soldier on sometimes."

*

Kitty's eyes narrow into slits as an amused smile edges her lips. "What was a necessary thing?" Playfully, her head cants to the side, "Moving here?" And then she chuckles, "Or burning dinner? Both were bound to happen at some point." Silently, she watches him a few beats, "And how do you feel about it, Petey?"

*

"It is good that you got burning dinner out of the way, yes," Piotr says, laughing. "I appreciate you doing it, so I did not have to do it myself. And it is a good feeling. I know I say I do not want much…and that is true. But." He pauses to find the right words. "If I had known how this would feel, I would have wanted it sooner. This feels like our home. I love it. And you." He bends to give Kitty a kiss.

*

"Ha! Like you would have. You are so good at paying attention to things!" Her cheeks puff out with an exhalation. "We both know I'm the distractible one." Kitty rises on her tiptoes and her arms wrap around Piotr's neck as her lips meet his. She returns to flat feet moments later. "I love you. I love everything about our apartment. I love that we get to play house." Her smile sweetens. "It's weirdly… normal. Does that make sense? I mean, we come here, we enjoy some quiet…"

*

"It makes sense. It feels like…perhaps this is not the way to put it but it feels as though we are people. Just. People. Not separate from the world." Piotr leans his forehead against hers for a moment. "I thought that was gone when I first saved Yana, when I could no longer hide what I was. But here we are. Just the way I thought it might be, before all that happened. Just two people in their little home, living a quiet little life. More rare than I'd expected."

*

Kitty's fingertips reach up to brush Piotr's cheek. A stitch of regret enters her expression as she quietly chastens herself, "I…" her shoulder slump, "wanted to make us a first dinner in our home. To christen our new dishes and have a very normal family dinner. So we could talk about," her expression falls and she virtually breathes the words, "our days. And things that happened. And." She swallows hard. "Things."

*

"Well." Piotr's expression turns a bit impish. "If I know you, this will be a very normal family dinner." He kisses Kitty on the forehead. "Let's put this out on the fire escape — " It's still smouldering a little. " — and make some sandwiches, open a tin of soup, and we can talk. I don't care what we have for dinner, Kitty, if I'm having it with you."

*

"But," Kitty objects, "I had a plan! We were going to eat the casserole. Mom used to make this one — it's even kosher," which Kitty typically doesn't follow. "I was going to light the candles," which just seems redundant now thanks to the smoke "and I set the table." She motions to the cute kitchen table. "And we would eat and talk and… " she shrugs.

Her cheeks flush and she reaches for the oven mitts which are used to pick up the casserole. She takes it to the fire escape and sets it down.

*

"When have our lives every gone to plan?" Piotr asks. He gets out a rag — on second thought, several rags — and begins to clean up around the stove. "As long as we end up back here, together, it is all right if things don't go according to plan. I'm certain it will go better next time," he says as he continues cleaning. "This is…training. Practice. That's all. Everything takes time."

*

"Right! I was just hopeful — " Kitty shrugs. " — it would just be nice to have something go according to my plans for once, you know." She emits a soft sigh and then nods her head, "So. My burning dinner was practice? Just… so you know, it wasn't just practice. It was… learning to pay attention." She swallows hard. "When things are in the oven. Maybe we should just resign and when I cook it's sandwiches."

*

"Kitty." Piotr tosses the rags in the sink, then comes over to take Kitty gently by the shoulders. "Is this really about dinner? Because…yes, it is upsetting, but you were busy and you are not accustommed to cooking. Accidents happen, you know that. What else is it?" He looks worried — she's usually more resilient, usually she'd laugh about it and just carry on.

*

There's a long pause that follows the question. "…no. I have to go back to Westchester. Already." Kitty's eyes roll emphatically. She leans into him and allows her eyes to lid. "I saw John in the hospital again," she murmurs softly. "Akihiro went to see him. After killing him." She actually groans.

*

"He…what? What is wrong with that boy?" Piotr leads Kitty over to the sofa so he can offer himself up as a cuddle sacrifice to improve her mood. "Would you feel better if I came with you? I know you were hoping for some space, and this…is slightly awkward, yes." He's more than a little irritated about Akihiro — mostly because Kitty is upset and that can't be allowed.

*

"He has a bomb in his brain, apparently," Kitty offers flatly. She sighs to punctuate the point. "Could you? I…" she pieces the bridge of her nose. As she gathers some of her gumption around the issue it comes out in a very irritated string of quickly explained information: "So Akihiro is working for the exact people we rescued him from at Coney Island, he attempted to silence John, he has a bomb in his brain, and John requested I help deal with that because presumably the bomb could go off at any time — problem is we don't know where to find him so i thought Westchester so the Professor can use Cerebro find Akihiro I can get to him and pull whatever is inside his brain out."

There. Story told. She gasps for breath. "Yes. Please. Come. I." She frowns. "I feel weird going back so soon. I mean… I kind of grew up there. I know it was only seven years, but it was seven years of my life that reshaped me. That changed how I felt about myself. But now it's… what it is."

*

Piotr rumbles irritably deep in his chest, then kisses Kitty's hair so that she knows it isn't her he's irritated with. "Of course I will come. That is…disturbing. There must be some consequence for poor judgment like that. I am certain the bomb is some kind of inconvenience but Akihiro does not seem to be particularly adept at learning to avoid trouble — trouble that inevitably involves others. And yet he has, so far, walked away from it mostly intact."

*

Kitty snap-points at Piotr. "That! That is how I feel! Exactly! That is the point, isn't it?! How many times does that kid get a 'get out of jail free' card? Like honestly!? It's ridiculous. It's ludicrous. It's — it's… ABSURD." There. She feels vindicated with Piotr on her side. "So. I was going to tell you about my day. While we had dinner. And then tell you about my pilgrimage back to Westchester to figure out where he is and fix this mess. As John said, if there's a bomb in Akihiro's brain, then someone has the detonator. Which means it could hurt people. Which means it has to come out." Her eyebrows lift, "And don't worry. If it happens, it won't hurt me. Scout's honour. Like… I don't know that pulling it out won't set it off, or that trying to phase it won't suddenly trigger it, but if I'm phased…" she's fine.

Her lips purse lightly, "Of course, I don't know what I'll do with it once it's out of Akihiro's brain. Like… what if once it's not phased it," she makes an exploding sound and motions an explosion with her hands.

*

"I know you will be fine, Katya. I trust your judgment on this." Piotr makes thoughtful hrm-noises about the problem. "I am not likely to be hurt either, if I change form. Perhaps I should accompany you for that as well. I make an excellent buffer. I might suggest having something like a block of concrete to sink the bomb into. Or, I could simply throw it out to sea — hopefully no fish will be too near-by. But better fish than us. No?"

*

"That…" Kitty's gaze turns upwards "…might work. Better the fish than us," she agrees wholeheartedly. "And I definitely couldn't get it far. I mean, honestly, the moment it's out of Akihiro's brain, I don't know what it'll be like. It might explode on the way out. I really have no idea." Her lips twitch. "But he can't walk around with a bomb in his brain. That's just dangerous." There's a pause and her lips curl upwards, "Thank you. I was going to talk about it. I was definitely going to talk about it, I just got distracted because you know… fire~" she shrugs. "So. That was my day. How was yours," and then, trying on the term of endearment for the first time, she dies, "…honey?" her expression sours around the word. Nope. Not honey.

*

Piotr laughs at that. It is very much not suited to him. "My day went quite well. I talked to another Russian when I was on my way to the subway, I should be able to get work on the docks easily — he told me who to talk to. But I also discovered that the Museum of Modern Art might have an opening in their security department. I was speaking to one of the guards when I visited. It is not convenient, but it would be a good place to work. All that art? It would be like going to school instead of going to work."

*

"Then you should do it. The distance might be a pain, but Petey, think of how happy you'd come home! And you could stare at paintings all day — seriously! That is pretty much perfect for you. Plus, maybe you could get perks like new exhibits or closed exhibits or — " Kitty cracks a grin " — I really have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's a good fit. And who wouldn't hire you for security? I would hire you for security. I always feel safer when you're with me." Her eyes flit away from him. "And you're basically a chiseled statue, so I'm sure you'd fit in with the artwork. It's like blending~"

*

"It is only an hour by transit," he points out. "And I travel to that area of town often enough. The guard I spoke to said that they preferred to hire those with some knowledge of art, so I might be a suitable worked for them. It is two hours out of my day, round trip, but it would pay well and I can study on the way." Piotr kisses her on the forehead. "If I took a night shift, I would see more of you in the time before you work in the evenings. Some time in the day would let us tend to other things."

*

"That sounds kind of perfect. An hour each way works well and you could just study paintings while there. We'd still get plenty of time together. I mean, that's the joy of living together right? Doesn't matter what else is going on, I'll see you," Kitty's grin brightens. "I think you should do it. Plus, I could always come meet you at the end of your shift depending on what's going on. I don't mind riding the train back with you, and I spend time in the city. Central Park is always good for running."

*

"You are the best partner I could ask for." Piotr's face lights up when he sees that smile from Kitty. Nothing better than her smiling. "I am very happy you suggested doing this. You were right, it was time for us to go, to be out on our own. And I know you wanted this to be a nice, normal evening, but I am very happy just the way it is. Our normal may never look like normal to other people but it will be ours. We will find out what it looks like along the way, even if it is a little smokey sometimes."

*

Kitty hums indecisively as her arms wrap around Piotr's neck. "I'm sure you could do better. BUT. I will take it and hold onto it and then one day I will remind you." Her smile softens. "You know… " her hands slide down his neck to his shoulders and she taps her chin thoughtfully "…we could let the smoke clear… might be wise to stay out of the kitchen for a bit. Let the windows work some magic."

*

"That might be wise." Piotr is relieved that her mood has lightened. Truthfully, dealing with Akihiro-problems would make anyone grumpy. "What do you suggest?" He tilts his head to give Kitty a quizzical look. The effect is much like being regarded, expectantly, by a particularly large puppy.

*

"Wellllll," Kitty's words elongate. "It's not a very big apartment, and I'm not sure we should leave with the windows open," she cringes slightly. "I mean… I like it here and I feel safe, but then there's just inviting trouble… leaving our home with all the windows open while we're not here," she rocks her hand ambivalently. "But." She raises a single finger. "We do have a bedroom. That is separate from the kitchen. And has a door to keep smoke out." She shrugs. Innocently.

*

"Yes, dear." Piotr stands, taking Kitty with him easily, since she's already all snuggled up to him. Seems more polite than making her move. "Though, there are easier ways to get me in the bedroom than setting dinner on fire," he teases. The apartment is tiny, so it's only a few strides and he can kick the door closed behind them — carefully.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License