ax_main | Kitty and Yuri, Saturday afternoon

That one time Yuri Plisetsky showed up while Kitty was dancing...

Kitty didn't know why she'd headed down to Stevie's studio rather than fool around in the school's studio. With the past few weeks of drama and terrible, and a load of reports on mutant experimentation on her mind, she'd had to get away. Stevie had been totally accommodating, too. She'd told Kitty that she could have the studio until her next lesson came in, and god, it was all Kitty needed.

The quiet of the studio, the stretch of her limbs, and the movement of her breath - it was meditative. She'd started work on a new contemporary dance routine over the summer, and after some stretching and exercises, she turned the music on, breathing deep as she let herself toy with the moves, her expressions, and the emotion she felt.

She wasn't exactly sure what she would do with the routine - not now that she wasn't competing. Stevie had said that Kitty could start back, of course, but some part of her just didn't trust herself, or her powers. What if she fell through the floor during a routine? And would it really be the same, without a troup? She didn't think so. So here she was, pouring her heart into something that was, she supposed, just for her.

Yuri was early, but he wanted to get in some barre time before Stevie showed up. Usually it was quiet when he arrived, but now he heard music, something... interesting. Not what he was used to hearing from a ballet studio, though he knew Stevie had plenty of contemporary-style students... Yuri wasn't one of them. He slipped in quietly, standing in one corner so he could only be seen in a very limited series of the mirrors, and watched the small girl dance.

She was from Xavier's; he'd seen her around, but they'd never spoken. And she... was good. She had flow and flexibility--and that deceptive ballet strength Yuri had cultivated for years in himself now. He set down his bag and leaned against the back barre, watching intensely.

Halfway through, Kitty came to the end of what she'd worked out so far and she reached out to turn off the music, dropping back onto her back on the floor to catch her breath in the quiet. It still needed a lot of work, but today, she didn't care. It had, at least, helped her work off some of the tension she'd been feeling. Finally sitting up, she reached for her phone again. Maybe one more go before- and her eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of someone in one of the mirrors.

Yuri cocked his head and peered at her from behind his fringe. "Privet. You dance well." He crossed one legginged ankle over the other, feet bare, for the moment.

Kitty blinked, and smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take up the studio time." She stood and grabbed her phone, heading toward him, only for her steps to slow halfway there. Whoa. That couldn't be...could it? Did he just speak Russian at her? "Yuri Plisetsky?"

Yuri had almost gotten used to no one knowing who the hell he was--except at the rink. He cocked an eyebrow, wondering if she was going to freak out or just... be cool. "Yeah. Who are you? I've seen you around school, but we never met."

If Kitty had not just had the kind of month where everything had turned her upside down, she probably would have freaked out. His accent was adorable. Wow, how had she not known that she liked Russian accents before? That was...definitely a thing. But the freaking out didn't happen. He'd seen her at school, which meant he was yet another mutant who had to be protected from the Right. "I'm...my name's Kitty Pryde. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you" or see you "at school. It's been a weird month for me. I used to figure skate and I've followed it ever since."

"Hm." Yuri seemed to consider this flood of information for a moment. Then he shook himself a little. "It's a weird school. I'm not surprised it's been a weird month. Definitely the weirdest month I've ever had."

"I'm surprised they moved you here," Kitty frowned. "You're going to keep competing, aren't you?"

"Of course. It's my senior debut year." Yuri scoffed, then flushed a little, looking away. "No mutant schools in Russia, I guess."

"I guess," Kitty echoed, feeling a little embarrassed to have seen that flush on his face. "But Stevie...she's awesome. I mean, she used to be this world class dancer before her knee injury so if anyone can keep you in shape, it's her."

Yuri grunted something like an affirmative response. "My coach's hag of an ex wife was the prima with the Bolshoi. She recommended Stevie. It's good her students think well of her too.

"I'm in shape, though. I need to be better than in shape."

"I meant..." but Kitty realized it probably wasn't worth it trying to explain to Yuri what she meant. "Nevermind. Do you...do you mind if I stick around and watch when she gets here, or would that be too distracting?"

Yuri shrugged. "I'm used to having people around. It's kind of weird when they're not." He was a little embarrassed, admitting that, but ducked down to put on his ballet shoes so his hair covered his face. He moved like a dancer, with flow and careful grace, making things look easy. "What do you think of Xavier's?"

Kitty flopped down to sit on the floor, toying with her leggings. "Honestly? I really love it. I know most people are all jaded and think it's dumb or think the Professor is trying to pull a fast one or something, but it's been good to me so far, and the Prof has been more than fair. It's a safe place to be...who we are, you know?"

Yuri considered this seriously, tilting his head to one side when he stood. "I suppose that's true, yes. Unless someone decides to ruin us all."

"Ruin?" That was oddly specific phrasing. But then again, she supposed that would be the first thing on Yuri's mind, right? His career?

"You think they'd let me compete, knowing what I am?" His expression was grim, serious, intense.

"Probably not," she agreed quietly, sympathy in her voice. "Even if your mutation doesn't have to do with anything on the ice."

"It doesn't," Yuri said immediately. Then a slight pause as he looked down at his feet. He stood in first position naturally. Weird. He never noticed that. "I turn into a tiger. And if you laugh about the ears, I swear..."

Kitty pressed her lips closed. She laughed inwardly. Really. Then she just grinned warmly at him. "Wow. A tiger," she breathed appreciatively. "Imagine all the fans you could knock out of your way like that!"

Yuri was not amused. Whatever that grin was, he didn't trust it. "You've seen the picture," he guessed, deadpan. His fan girls had thought he'd donned fake ears because of his well known love of cats. But no...

Kitty's smile faded into an 'Oh!' expression as it dawned on her. "Oh my gosh, is that why?"

Yuri grumbled under his breath, "I started to shift on the podium. It was an accident."

She frowned sympathetically. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

He scrutinized her for signs of irony but found none. And so he said, "It's nothing. I'm just tired of getting cat ears in the mail, is all. Even if my fans are--mostly good. They can be... a lot." As in give him panic attacks.

Kitty looked thoughtful. "You know, if that ever happens when I'm around, I can get you away very easily. My power is walking through walls. And, well, other things. And I can take people with me."

"Hah?" Yuri blinked rapidly. "But... how? Through walls?"

"It's complicated," she told him, having learned that most kids didn't really want to hear her theories on quantum tunneling. "And sciencey. But watch." It was a simple enough thing to phase her hand and push it through the floor, showing almost half of her arm disappearing from sight.

A month ago, Yuri would've called her a freak. Now, he'd seen weirder. And he had to admit, "That's pretty cool. And useful. Not hard to sneak out at night, huh?"

"Not at all," she agreed, pulling her arm back. "If I wanted to, I mean."

"It's probably not hard at Xavier's anyhow," Yuri said thoughtfully. "But there's nowhere nearby to go, anyhow."

Kitty nodded. "It's very Riverdale around here. There's the movies, mall, and restaurants, but that's about it. Where do you practice, anyway? Is there an ice rink near here?"

"About twenty minutes away," Yuri replied, then frowned. "What's Riverdale?"

"It's a teenage TV drama. Kind of a weird take on the Archie Comics," Kitty shrugged sheepishly, a blush rising to her cheeks. "Kind of a guilty pleasure. But I'd love to come see you skate sometime. If, uh, if that's okay?"

Yuri made a mental note to look up Riverdale when he got back to his room. Then he nodded. "You can come. You might want to find your own ride, though, if you don't want to be there all night." Reluctantly, for some reason not wanting to share this information for some reason, he added, "Otabek Altin is training here for the moment. You should watch him, too."

Kitty looked thoughtful. "I've heard his name...where's he from?" And why did it sound like Yuri Plisetsky was praising someone else? Wait, and why did she need to get a ride? Unless Yuri was riding with Otabek. Which was. Okay. Sure. They were probably friends, right?

"Khazakstan. He's the one who got bronze at Worlds last year," Yuri said, chin raising with pride. "He gives me a ride home, usually, but not until late."

She nodded. "Sure, yeah. That makes sense." No, no it didn't. But it seemed to make sense to him so she didn't want to cross a brand new (incredibly talented) friend. Especially one who could keep up with her in dance. "I can find my own way there, if you let me know when you'll be there."

"You can come with me, just not home," Yuri said. It never occurred to him that he could skip out on a ride with Otabek just once. "I leave right after class usually."

"Okay," she smiled. Maybe she could get an Uber or something. "Hey, give me your phone and I'll call mine. That way you'll have a way to get in touch with me."

Yuri's lock screen was a picture of Pyotya, his Himalayan cat. He finger printed out of that to the main screen, where his wallpaper was a picture of pirozhkis. It was all in Russian, but the icons were the same. She could figure it out. He handed it over.

Kitty paused on the picture of the cat, awing briefly (she appreciated cats, ok?) then tapped on the icons to call herself. She had to hand the phone back before adding her name to his contacts, though. Russian just wasn’t something she knew. Yet. She’d be looking into that.

"Kitty like cat, yeah?" Yuri asked as he typed it in. "Cool name."

"It's really Katherine," she confided, privately wondering what that would be in Russian. Katarina? "Kitty's just my nickname."

"Ekaterina," Yuri said with a little smile. "Also a good name. Kind of old-lady, but Yuri's kind of old-man."

Kitty screwed up her nose. "Why do you think I have a nickname? But I like Yuri! It makes me think of badass guys in action movies..."

Yuri grinned and it was a little bit wicked. "'Yuri' is always the Villain in Hollywood movies. I like that." Russians were apparently terrifying. Yuri wasn't going to argue.

That was the first real grin she’d seen from him, and she returned it, eyes bright. “You don’t scare me,” she taunted.

"Then you haven't seen enough spy movies," Yuri said with a silent but heartfelt laugh. "Someday I'll do a routine where I'm a Bond villain who wins."

Kitty's eyes lit up. "That would be amazing! Oh, and your outfit would be so cool."

Still smiling, Yuri nodded. "I'll start looking for the right music. Maybe next year."

Then Stevie entered, and he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. If he wanted to make the best senior debut possible--without Viktor, without Yakov, without anyone--he had work to do. He stood straighter and his face went serious, eyes narrowing.

Kitty found herself scrambling to her feet too, smiling briefly at Stevie in thanks. Then with a wave to Yuri, she grabbed her things and disappeared out the door.