More fanfic fun from yours truly, now with an extra helping of feels.

So sorry for the delay in the recent chapters, but I have a really real excuse for my inactivity! I am an aunt of a lovely 11 week old girl; I have a huge vet bill to pay for my old cat (so I've been taking on extra commission work), and I have delved so deep into the Star Wars Rebels fandom that I know all too well that I'm never coming out.

I'm also going away on holiday today with zero Wi-Fi, so I won't be able to see reviews and such until I come back. I'll have another (longer) chapter when I do come back, and maybe some artwork to show off on my art blog (lochcamaenarts).

Enjoy!

Regarding what he had witnessed in the last few days (ranging from peanut butter feasts to bubble fights, crude Barbie YouTube videos and endless quoting of said videos), Kurt hardly found the newest event unfolding before him surprising. But certainly noteworthy.

Right now, he was sitting with Illyana between armchairs and watching Anna pace between apartments, trying to calm down an almost-hysterical Kitty over the phone. Apparently someone in her Socials class had gone out, brought lunch for the younger students, and then proceeded to offer her a cheese and tuna sandwich: her favourite. The act had sent Kitty into a flurry of years (that part made sense; the woman barely had time for breakfast this week and had practically starved herself to rush to today's exam.

Piotr and Illyana hadn't been pleased about it.)

Kurt would call his college years weird, but he had no room to talk. He'd once brought a poker table into his school's elevators and betted animal crackers against seniors during his last exam period. He had also taken part in Evan's Nerf gun war and lived to tell his parents how he had acquired a hockey puck-shaped scar on his shoulder.

They had been very angry with him.

Anna even more so.

Illyana nudged Kurt, and he jerked up to see Anna put down her phone at long last. She pushed her hair back, holding it away from her eyes as she sighed loudly.

"Crisis averted."

"Katya is better?" Illyana asked, leaning forward from the hiding spot.

"Yeah, just hungry an' overwhelmed." She walked over to a lone bean bag dumped in the middle of her living room, sending pens flying everywhere. The younger two shared a glance and went across to lounge on the sofa.

"And you aren't?" Kurt asked carefully.

"Hell yeah." Anna answered, covering her face with a thick Latin language textbook that she didn't even need. "Ah'm too tired ta do anythin' 'bout it."

"No waterfalls?"

"Nada. Try next year, or when Ah graduate."

"I vill keep that in mind, just you vait." Kurt smirked, chuckling under his breath. Anna shook her head; nothing short of a paying editor internship would make her bawl her eyes out in happiness (especially a couple hours before her last exam). Kitty was just far more emotional than her.

Anna rubbed her eyes, got up, walked straight into the kitchen and grabbed an apple sitting alone on the countertop. It was probably too old to be tasty but she didn't care. She could eat hospital food right now and be happy to actually have something in her stomach (Kitty would have scolded her and yelled to get a real meal; she was starving not a savage. Kitty was also a giant hypocrite). She flopped onto a beanbag, almost sending a stapler into Illyana's forehead.

"Why do finals exist?" She whined, throwing her head back and frowning like a child with no toy.

"To keep students on toes." Illyana answered. Oh, sweet summer child…

"To stop ze youth from enjoying life." Kurt answered. Closer, but no cigar.

"Lovely." Anna grumbled, pouting more which only helped her to look even more ridiculous than before in her green and orange pajamas (shut up, they're comfy!). She thought to herself to get dressed for the exam, or at least drag out her luggage so she wasn't rushing around when she got home. It'd save her some trouble… but she also couldn't be bothered right now.

Kurt and Illyana looked clueless, glancing around and to each other with raised eyebrows that prompted nothing.

Luckily for them, Piotr chose that moment to pop his head into the apartment. Illyana sat up, asking something in Russian. Anna rolled her head over to watch them, putting her feet up on the couch armrest and chewing the last piece of the bitter apple.

"Have any of you seen my phone?" Piotr asked aloud. Kurt shook his head. Anna shrugged and grunted in her throat. Piotr had a phone to talk to people he didn't live with? Wait, of course he did; he was in her contacts list. Her brain was turning to old person mush, she knew it.

"Sorry, Piotr," Illyana said. "I'll help look."

"Spasibo." Piotr nodded to her, rubbing his face and all the tiredness that came with it. He was getting more sleep, thankfully, but the last few nights had been jumpy. Probably because of the missing phone.

"I have to go out now, you'll be okay?" Piotr asked them all, receiving tired nods and groans. He sighed and backed out of the room, retreating into his own living space.

"Vhere was it last seen?" Kurt asked Illyana, opting to be helpful for once this damned week (Yes, she was still mad about his finals).

"Few days ago, by TV." Illyana stood up and rubbed her chin, trying to imagine where it had disappeared to. "But he might have put it somewhere else."

"That's a starting point." He pushed himself up onto his feet, then followed Illyana out, leaving Anna on her own and still pouting with nothing but an apple core in her hand.

She groaned again, stretching her legs up in the air and making no effort to actually get up. She had at least three hours before she had to go to campus for her final exam, and at least two hours worth of packing to do before she could even think of heading home for Christmas.

Anna sighed and rolled off the beanbag, forcing herself onto her feet and cursing every second of it. She knew it would be better to get it sorted now, but that didn't mean she liked it in the meantime.

0XX0

Piotr tucked his helmet under his arm, careful not to drop anything, and jogged up the stairs two steps at a time until he came up to his floor. He rushed over to the doors and skidded to a stop to throw his head into the student apartment.

"Is Katya back?"

Anna looked up from her spot in the middle of a pile of bags, some her's and others Kitty's. She spat out the shirt she was holding in her mouth to reply. "Not for another three hours, lover boy. Didn' she call ya?"

"Phone's missing, remember?" Piotr stood up straight, smoothing his helmet hair down and ignoring Anna's snarky retort. He pulled down the zip on his leather jacket when she tutted him.

"Zip up an' gear up." She said as she held up her phone, pointing it in his direction. Piotr gave her a look and she shrugged. "Biker get-up looks good on ya. Kitty would appreciate it."

"She's already seen it." He frowned, but complied anyway.

"She'll love ta see it again." She snapped a photo (or six) and smirked. "What do ya need her for?"

"I have surprise for her."

"Oooh, what?"

"Secret." Piotr turned around, shrugging off his jacket without interruption and went into his home. Anna grumbled, not paying attention to the voices that greeted him.

She huffed, blowing a hair out of her face. Her bags were laid out in front of her, surrounded by Kitty's own, with only a few shirts and bras left to put into her big suitcase. Cursing under her breath, she shuffled her carry on bag over to Kitty's section, shoved the rest of her apparel into the bigger bag, and then stood up to dust off her sore knees. She knew she should've used a pillow; jeans weren't made for kneeling.

Looking over her things, Anna saw that she was more or less ready to go home now, with only a few small stocking gifts to pack, but it still felt like she had a mountain to climb. There was an hour left until she had to leave for her exam, and then three hours until she left for the airport. There wasn't enough time to get in any extra studying (not that she really needed it), nor were there any small jobs in the apartment left to do-

"Anna, poptarts! Come get zem!" Kurt called from the opposite apartment door. Anna rolled her eyes and shoulders, cracking out the tension and fatigue the day had given her so far. Poptarts would do for now.

0XX0

Piotr turned the guest pass over in his free hand, frowning at the frayed edges and yellowing paper despite its laminated structure. This college had funds for a daily two year archery trick course, but not enough to update the passes that determined who was allowed entry onto the innard parts of the campus? Art college had been nothing like this.

He turned a corner and passed through an open doorway, now hearing the low grumblings of stressed students hunting for a snack. Kurt had told him to expect zombies when he got to the campus canteen. He hadn't thought it so literal when he left home earlier…

Piotr came to the open space filled with tables, chairs, and exhausted students in various spots and poses. He scanned over the area, spotting his target standing in front of a vending machine with a heavy bag weighing down her shoulders, and a couple of girl friends hovering around her. He made a bee-line to them, adjusting his hold on his helmets under his arm and smiling.

"Katya!"

Kitty lifted her head up sluggishly, huffing her tangled hair out of her face with a weak breath, to look over to Piotr. She recognised him after a tired moment and returned the smile.

"Peeete, you've come to rescue meee."

Piotr came up to her, holding out an arm to support her when she started to slump over trying to reach him. He chuckled as she steadied herself and then reached into his helmets, pulling out a plastic bag to hand over.

"Da, I thought your last exam day deserved nice treat and ride home." Kitty took the bag and opened it up, looking inside.

"Aww, you got me peanut butter popcorn! And- and bagels?" She pulled out said item, spreading crumbs all over their feet.

Piotr shrugged. "Kurt said you really like them."

Kitty pouted and narrowed her eyes, taking a big bite out of the bagel. "I do, but he thinks he's being funny."

"...Right. There's more." She raised an eyebrow at him but reached into the bag anyway. Her eyes widened and he smiled as she pulled out the gift, a very soft, very old Mr. Snuffleupagus plush toy.

"Something to remember me by over holiday."

"Awwww!" Kitty's friends chimed in the background, prompting Piotr to tear his eyes away from the teary smile adorning Kitty's face. Two women he hadn't met before were watching them, but he was sure the Asian one was in Kitty's IT class. He wasn't sure if he knew the brown woman, though it was more than likely that either Kitty or Anna had talked about her to him at some point. He supposed he should really meet more of their other friends.

"Guys, don't be weird." Kitty pouted again (Piotr frowned), turning on her friends. "You're the worst."

"We know and we love it. I'm Daisy, by the way." The Asian woman leant over to hold her hand out to him, brushing her short dark hair back to reveal a twinkle in her hazel eyes. Piotr shook her hand, even if he didn't completely trust that shine.

"You never let me call you Daisy!" Kitty's voice cracked and Daisy shrugged.

"You're not a cute boy." Kitty squawked at that. Piotr wondered if all of her friends had alternative names to go by for whatever psychological reason.

Daisy motioned to the other girl with them. "And this is the lovely Amara. Saviour of all printed essays."

"Hi." Amara waved, which only made Kitty groan and tug on Piotr's leather jacket.

"Meet and greet another time. I need to go home."

"Buzzkill, Kitty." Daisy stuck out her tongue and laughed. Amara shot Kitty a sympathetic look and waved her off.

"Yeah yeah, see ya next year. Happy Hanukkah." Piotr took his smaller helmet and fitted it on Kitty as she rested against him, grumbling other holiday greetings to her friends. He waved to them for her as he led her out of the canteen, wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. They kept their pace slow and the smile returned to Kitty's face.

"Thank you, Piotr." She mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. She held the plush to her chest. "I love it."

"Your welcome." He leant down and kissed her hair, pulling her closer to him. "We get you home, you eat up, light your menorah candle, then rest."

Kitty wrapped her arms around him as best as she could, smiling softly and looking up at him as if he were the only thing in the world.

"You're the best."

"You too."

0XX0

Anna dragged her suitcases across the tarmac, cursing her sisters for wanting such heavy Christmas presents, before dumping them by the taxi. The driver took a glance at the over packed bag and Anna guessed he was doing the same now. She shook her hands free of cramp and inhaled deeply.

"Ah just gotta grab mah carry on an' say goodbye. Can ya wait ten minutes?" She asked the driver as he lifted the lighter suitcase into the trunk.

"Sure, we're good for time." He shrugged.

"Thanks." Anna smiled, turning back towards her building. She crossed onto the cul-de-sac road, only to almost meet a speeding motorcycle face to face. She yelped loudly and jumped back, avoiding any collision as the driver speeded away to disappear behind the building.

Anna scowled as she recovered, shouting a string of colourful curses that some neighbour's kids were probably going to copy. She didn't care.

Once she was done, Anna ran back into the building and up the stairs. She was on short time now and wasn't going to waste it. She soon jogged up to the fourth floor before a high-pitched scream stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Kitty!" Anna bounded up the stairs, taking three at a time and ignoring the pain crawling up her calves for it. With her reinvigorated energy, she made it up two more floors to her own and rushed to the doors.

From there, she saw dark spots on the burgundy carpet. She knelt down and eyed the trail that led to the end of the corridor. Frowning, Anna followed it and peered down each corner; one led to the building's elevator, and the other to a window and fire escape. That's where the trail went.

"No…" Anna went to the window, now seeing that it had been hastily shut down with…

With a bloodied hand. Too big to be Kitty's.

Loud familiar voices pulled Anna back to the other end of the trail, which she only noticed led to the Rasputin door. Powered by a new determination, she stormed into the apartment with her head held high.

"What are ya do-?!" Anna froze as her eyes set on the scene unfolding in front of her. Piotr was rummaging through a first aid kit on the floor; Kurt was carrying bath towels across the room in a panicked state; Illyana was curled up on herself in the corner of the armchair, and Kitty was hunched over the couch where Remy was laid out.

Hand pressed against a bloodstained side.

"Oh, God…"

There's still space left here in Special Hell™ for all you lovelies.

Extra note: From here on out, you're going to notice a shift in style in the fic. The plot has kicked in and I'm going to keep the focus on the two main pairings from now on. The last few chapters introduced extra characters so that I can get them out of the way and not spend too much time in future chapters giving info dumps on them. We will not be straying away from the main cast's POV and there will be MUCH more focus on their development as well as plot progression.

I have 100 more chapters of this planned out; buckle in for the ride!