The Day After the Night Before by Luba Kmetyk (NC-17)

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Kitty Pryde/Pete Wisdom
Author Website: Fonts of Wisdom
Why this must be read:

I'm shocked and amazed that no one has pimped Luba before here! Not only is she a splendidly talented writer, she also runs one of the largest and longest-running archives for slash, het and gen comic fic on the web. The Day After is one of her earliest stories, the first in a series about the quirky relationship between former child prodigy and X-Man Shadowcat and her chain-smoking, foul-mouthed, spandex-hating, ex-spy boyfriend, starting the morning after their first time. (The first time happened off-screen in the comics, at the tail end of a nasty piece of espionage, so the story jumps right into the thick of things. Just sit back and enjoy, and pick it up as you go.) I've always loved the insecurities and miscommunication Luba brings out in this story, the way the new lovers tend to trip over themselves and each other. It's love and life (and very hot!) without being smoothly choreographed porn.

"Nothing's wrong with your underwear, Pete, I love them, really I do -- they're so cute, you look so cute in them..." Kitty couldn't help it. She started laughing again. "God, I'm sorry, Pete -- I'm not making fun of you, really I'm not..."

He could feel there wasn't anything malicious in her laughter, and her bubbling mirth and innocent delight were contagious. "'S all right, love. I'll wear silly pants every bleedin' day if it makes you laugh -- I love hearin' you laugh. You just swear you ain't goin' t' run tell all your mates, right? This is between us, like, right?"

The Day After the Night Before

Comments

[chickpea.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really want to read this, but am not familiar with comicverse. Who is Pete Wisdom? Can I get a little info about him and Kitty, canon- and fanon-wise? Thanks!

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

No prob! Kitty Pryde was the youngest X-Man for a long time, computer whiz, prodigy, ninja, oh yeah, and she has a pet dragon. Despite all these good points, she was dumped by Colossus and spent a very long while having unreciprocated crushes on guys who were more interested in her big-breated teammates.

When the X-Men "died" in Dallas, she, Nightcrawler and a few other X-Men marginal characters formed a British super team called Excalibur. At this point in the comic, the team was living with Moira MacTaggert on Muir Island and the comic was being written by Warren Ellis (who also wrote Hellblazer, Transmetropolitan, and many other snarky British comics), and Ellis invented Pete Wisdom.

Pete is a mutant who can shoot "hot knives" out of his fingers. He stubs out cigarettes on plates of fried eggs and then eats the eggs. He wears filthy, rumpled suits and used to work for a pretty nasty black ops outfit, which he joined because his Dad, a cop, barred him from joining the police. He also will do anything to protect a friend, without expecting any thanks in return. He only joined Excalibur because he didn't have a better option at the time (he calls the X-teams "The Spandex Brigade" and thinks they're ridiculous), but once he was there, he slowly started to like the sense of belonging to a family.

When the rest of the team figured out Pete and Kitty were dating, Captain Britain and Nightcrawler took Pete aside and told him in detail what they would do to him if he hurt Kitty, and slowly started warming up to him. But that night, Colossus appeared on their doorstep, saw Pete kissing Kitty goodnight, and decided to beat Pete to a pulp for kissing the girl Colossus himself had dumped and abandoned years ago. After nearly breaking Pete's spine and having the facts of life explained to him, Colossus joined the team too. So this story happens right before Captain Britain and Nightcrawler take Pete aside for their little talk.

[chickpea.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! ::runs off to read::

(Also, love your icon. R&G Are Dead is one of my favorite movies.)

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

Mine too! *g*

[gabby-silang.livejournal.com]

PETE. KITTY. KITTY/PETE. oh, I love you so hard for this.

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

So glad you liked! I love Kitty, and combing through my old favorites for recs this month is like falling in love all over again.