There's something I should tell you...

[Svetlana Ustinov]

They'd been building up to the moment for months. Kisses had gotten deeper, touches carried more heat, and need had slowly simmered just beneath the surface of each of them.

It wasn't simmering anymore.

Energy crackled in the air around them and danced across their skin. Electricity and sunlight inextricably intertwined, pulsing to the combined rapid beat of their hearts.

Their lips parted only twice in quick succession, and even those two instances were deliciously brief. Long enough for her fingers to pull his t-shirt up over his head, and then just long enough for him to slide her tank-top off. Both were tossed aside in short order, leaving her to shiver slightly until he pressed her back once more, his fingers trailing along the edge of her lacy bra.

One of her hands settled on the back of his neck, while the other trailed down the center of his chest, fingers hooking into the waistband of his jeans. The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open with a soft sound. Lily, who normally darted out, growled darkly.

"Svetlana Ekaterina Ustinova, kakogo cherta vy dumaete chto vy delaete, baryshnya?"

The familiar voice made Lana go perfectly still. Blinking, she tilted her head to the side and looked over Alex's warm shoulder to see her mother standing just outside the door. Arms crossed and a sculpted brow raised, an unreadable look on her features.

"O, ya znayu tochno, chto ya delayu. Vopros v tom, kakogo cherta ty zdesʹ delaeshʹ?" Lana snapped back after catching her breath, flatly refusing to move from where she was, glaring defiantly.




---

Gods bless GoogleTranslate:

"...what the hell do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing. Question is, what the hell are you doing here?"

[Alex Kaine]

Lana may have gone still, but Alex whirled around to face the unfamiliar woman with a face full of uncomprehending shock. It took him a moment to process that a stranger was standing in the foyer of what was supposed to be a private penthouse, and another moment to match the Slavic beauty and statuesque poise to the woman he'd seen smiling primly alongside a bearded bear of a man in a photo on Lana's mantle.

Alex felt torn between the impulse to protect Lana and the urge to go diving for his shirt. He was completely at a loss amid the rapid-fire Russian vitriol.

[Gaia]

"Do you think she'll be happy to see us?"

"Of course she will, my love..."

"Do you think she's mad at me?"

"No, love, I'm certain she isn't. The only person she'll be mad at is me."

"You should have told us, mama. Should have told her especially."

"I know, love...I...know. Would you...go inside, won't you? She'll be here soon enough, and I need to tend to these plants."

Piotr nodded and wandered off inside the apartment, while Yelena remained in the atrium space. Fingers extended towards the plants, and leaves rustled in response, shifting, rippling, and moving towards her as she extended her power to them. They were strong, healthy, and well maintained...obviously Lana's work as she detected the familiar trace of her daughter's energy.

Pain lanced across Yelena's features, lingering there as she drew her hands back so as not to wither them. Her bright teal gaze darkened with all of her swirling emotions. She'd made many mistakes in her life, but lying to Svetlana was among the worst things she'd ever done. She wouldn't be able to blame her daughter if she never forgave her.

Fingers smoothed out the delicate lace of her dress as she rose from her seat on the bench, stilettos clicking along the marble floor. There were a thousand things she should have done, but hadn't, and now everything was going straight to hell. Looking down at her hands as she entered the vast apartment, she could remember vividly how it had felt to finally break free from Dimitri. How his blood had covered her like so many precious rubies, his body crushed and pulled into the earth, her life finally her own for the very first time.

Piotr's voice rang out and interrupted her train of thought, calling her into the living room where he was toying with the tablet that controlled the entertainment system. The large flatscreen TV was split into four sections, apparently one security camera to each. Yelena could see the patio in one, the pool in another, the lobby and its lush plants just outside the front door, and in the fourth was an interior view of the private elevator.

And her teenage daughter in an alarming state of undress...

"Piotr, turn that off and wait here." Yelena said a bit more archly than she'd intended, before stalking out to wait for the elevator. Piotr winced and did as he was told, gingerly setting aside the tablet and drawing his knees up to his chest. This wasn't going to be a very happy surprise.

-----

She shifted her position as Lana spoke back to her, a flicker of something sharp and unforgiving dancing across her face before disappearing. Glittering teal eyes took in the sight of her daughter's boyfriend, Alex, whirling around with a complete look of shock writ on his features. At least, she mused, Hektor had told her about him. Though if he knew, he hadn't mentioned just how close they apparently were.

"Take a moment to gather yourselves, if you please. I would like to speak to you both inside." Yelena said quietly, before spinning on her heel and leaving them to follow.

[Svetlana Ustinov]

Her hands gently slid to his waist, turning him back to face her. Features unreadable, she held him tight and kissed him. The moment had been utterly ruined, but the comfort of having him so close and so warm was undeniable.

Lana would have preferred to stay right there, wrapped up in his arms up against his skin. But she couldn't. With a soft, pained sigh, she shifted, putting some space between them. It was enough to allow Lily to whine and demand attention from each of them, her own distress palpable.

Slender fingers tugged her frilly tank-top back over her head and into place, smoothing out the pleats before reaching down to skritch behind Lily's ears.

"You don't have to come in if you don't want to, Aleksanderr..." she said softly, blinking as she cast her gaze away from his. He'd dealt with enough in one day, she wouldn't blame him in the least if he chose to leave right then.

But god, did she hope he'd stay.

[Alex Kaine]

Maybe it would be best to go. The last time Alex had heard, Lana's mother was still in Russia and out of communication. Whatever had brought her halfway around the world to LA was probably deeply personal, deeply familial, and Alex wasn't a part of that circle yet. For all he knew, the reunion was supposed to be a happy one, and here he was intruding on it.

But there was no mistaking the sudden look of panic in Lana's eyes just before she'd turned them away. And whatever else she'd said, Yelena had asked them both in. If she'd meant to exclude him, all she'd needed to do was speak in Russian. Backing out now would be cowardice.

He squeezed Lana's hands together. "She asked for both of us, didn't she?" he said. "I have to meet her sometime."

Alex stooped to gather up his shirt and quickly pulled it on. Then he took a hold of Lana's hand and stepped out of the elevator.

[Piotr Ustinov]

Popping his head up from where it rested on his knees, dark eyes watched his mother stalk by without a word, pain radiating from her features. She went out onto the patio and wrapped her arms around herself as she stood looking out over the cityscape.

Blinking, Piotr wondered what had happened until her heard the pattering of feet coming in the doorway, and then he just couldn't help himself.

"Lana!" he crowed happily, racing down the hallway and launching himself at his sister.

[Svetlana Ustinov]

My god, she loved him even more in that moment.

Lana nodded as they walked into the apartment and let the door close behind them. Her free hand tossed her phone and access card into the waiting basket on the nearby table, then reached down to free Lily from her harness. The pup shook herself vigorously before looking up and whining softly.

It was all she could do to remain standing when Piotr hit her, forcing her to let go of Alex's hand. Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she held him close, kissing into his hair as she murmured. "You're here to? Oh god, I missed you so much...are you alright? Piotr, tell me you're alright...look at you! You've gotten so tall!"

She forgot everything else for a few moments, alternately holding him at arm's length to stare and hugging him tightly. Eventually, she remembered herself and gently turned Piotr around to face Alex, though her arms remained wrapped around his shoulders.

"Alex, this is Piotr. My baby brother...the one I'm reasonably sure you're tired of hearing about. Piotr, this is my boyfriend Alex." she beamed a bright smile. Lily, for her part, had slunk behind Alex to hide, peering around his legs but refusing to move.

"You know there's a camera in the elevator, right?" Piotr quipped with a sly grin even as he extricated himself from his sister's grasp and offered Alex a hand.

[Alex Kaine]

Alex's face froze in place as he shook the little tyke's hand.

"I do now," he said. "So... when did you and your mom get to LA?"

[Piotr Ustinov]

"Just a few hours ago..." Piotr began blinking as his eyes glowed crimson for a moment. He stared off to one side, letting go of Alex's hand after shaking it, gaze distant and not at all 'there'.

Lana gently cupped his face murmured softly in Russian as her 'glow' brightened considerably and enveloped him as well. He sighed after a moment and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Mikhail says hello." he mumbled after a moment or two.

[Svetlana Ustinov]

She let her glow dissipate as she held onto him and kissed into his hair. There would come a time, she mused distantly, when he wouldn't be so comfortable with being held by his big sister. Lana dearly hoped it didn't come anytime soon.

Lana smiled as she peered in the direction he'd been looking in briefly, then gently shifted so Piotr was tucked into her side. She smiled softly up at Alex and tilted her head for him to join them as they walked down the hall and through the living room.

She paused as Piotr spoke, glancing down at him.

"I think she did what she thought was best."

"But she still lied to me. I wasted my life trying to please someone who wasn't even my father."

"You should be glad he wasn't. Mikhail and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Lana sighed as she gently let him go, leaving him to stand beside Alex. "Try not to tell Alex too many embarrassing stories about me, alright?" she smiled faintly as she glanced at them both and stepped outside.

Soft footsteps took her over to where her mother stood, where she paused beside her. Lana twisted her hands together nervously as she took a deep breath. "You lied...you lied to me..." she nearly choked on the words as a bit too much emotion threaded its way through the syllables. Pain halted her voice as she turned away and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

[Gaia]

What have I done.

Slender fingers rose to pinch the bridge of her nose, a reply lingering on the tip of her tongue. But Lana continued before she could say anything.

"Why? Why, mama?"

Yelena uttered a soft, pained sound that she couldn't hold in even though she tried. There was an entire speech she had come up with. A dozen reasons. Excuses. Pretty words of apology.

Things she'd rehearsed on the long trip over, after she'd spoken to Hektor. There was another relationship she was certain she'd irrevocably ruined. The only man she'd ever truly loved, and she'd...well. She'd screwed that up in equally spectacular fashion.

Turning to Lana, she reached out and gently turned her daughter to face her. "Svetlana...I..." Yelena swallowed and struggled to keep her composure, to keep some modicum of the armor she'd spent so long forging. "...I was afraid. I wanted to protect you. And...it tears me apart that I failed so terribly. My god, when he told me you'd been hurt..."

She couldn't finish the thought as it drove the breath out of her lungs. Instead, she pulled a stunned Lana into a tight, shuddering embrace and struggled to breathe.

[Svetlana Ustinov]

Her mother had always been tender and loving, but this vulnerability was a side of her that Lana had never seen before. It was shocking, confusing, and even a bit frightening. What else had she been hiding that she'd never noticed before?

The time would come soon enough, she mused, when she could ask. Their relationship had irrevocably changed the day of the Rally, but right now...there were other things to attend to.

Lana pulled back after lingering there, in her mother's arms, hiccuping as her sobs eventually subsided. Her control had crumbled the minute she'd seen the sorrow in her mother's gaze and felt the normally strong woman shake. A moment later, she heard the glass door slide open and Piotr's footsteps as he raced over and joined them.

She had to laugh as she caught her breath, given that he tucked himself between them. Lana kissed his forehead and accepted the tissue he proffered, watching as he looped their mother's arm over his shoulders. He helped her over to one of the chairs surrounding the table beneath the pergola. Her glowing gaze narrowed with concern, a glance which her mother caught and gently shook her head at.

"Why don't I go get Sergei and Natasha...I'm sure you must be hungry. And Sergei can make your usual, mother. I think you need it." she said softly, padding inside to the kitchen where she spoke to Sergei through the intercom, a stream of rapid Russian sliding past her lips.

[Alex Kaine]

So, your girlfriend reveals her father is an international revolutionary. Her supermodel mother turns up unannounced to deliver a flurry of Russian invectives. Her kid brother pipes in with messages from the dead. And now you're left sitting on the couch trying not to intrude on an emotional reunion you know you can't understand, and not just because it's in Russian.

Yes, even by mutant standards, today was a weird day.

Alex listened as the raised voices in the dining room quieted to a tender murmur, then finally ceased altogether. He heard whisper-quiet footsteps crushing the plush carpet behind him, and he stood and rounded the back of the couch to meet Lana there. She looked as vulnerable as he'd ever seen her, and he'd seen her lying helpless in the grass after taking a tranq round at the Stanly Mosk Courthouse rally. She looked similar now - pale, delicate, absolutely spent.

He lifted his hands behind her shoulders and pulled her close, relishing her long sigh of relief as she leaned into him. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.