Fiery Embrace  ||  xinvictvs
    The entire day had been filled with activities. Benjamin had begun the day by making breakfast for both of them. With Piotr around, he made extra, just in case. Afterwards, he dressed in a pair of joggers, and a hooded jumper. All in XXXL sizes: he had to travel far to get his clothes. Departing from his home, he begun his normal routine of exercising, to burn off the extra energy and fire-power he held within. The beast beneath always desperate to come forth. Last thing he wanted, was to spontaneously combust a piece of furniture, or Piotr, for that matter. Hours passed, where Benjamin ran through the forest, moving like a blur. He had run for miles, thankful that no humans dared to go this deep into the forest, where they could get lost. Benjamin, on the other hand, knew the forest like the back of his hand. Photographic memory, and all. From his run, he went into exerting some of his strength: carrying large logs and boulders from near the mountain. Sometimes, he would even punch them. When enough sweat had been spilt, he made his way back home to Piotr, only to find the man cutting pieces of logs to use for the fireplace. âIâll meet you back home.â Instead of wasting time climbing the mountain, he figured he would utilise some of his abilities to get there quicker. Weight was brought to his feet, his legs bowed, and by using the force from his legs, he launched himself from the ground. Hands turned to talons, to clip onto the side of the mountain, where he begun to climb it, kicking up to reach the top quicker. He could have brought his wings out, but it had been months since he had done that, and it usually left him hotter than normal.
    The first thing he did upon entering his home, was to go into the kitchen, where he drank gallons upon gallons of water. On the roof of the home was a water tank that he had stored. As for electricity, solar panels were used to converge the sunlight into energy. There wasnât any faults with the home, except for there not being any wi-fi, which was something Benjamin didnât need in his life. By the time he was done guzzling down some water, Piotr had returned with a sack full of logs, covered in sweat and grime. There was only one decent shower in his home, and with a tilt of his head, he lured Piotr to it. Slowly, their clothes were discarded. The sight of his naked friend always managed to phase him somehow. Today, it was with a gawking mouth. The phoenix and the mutant were in the shower: it was wide and long enough to fit the both of them. The spray of water that came from the head was cold, which seemed to have alarmed Piotr upon the first touch, but after a while, he saw just how comfortable he became, since Benjaminâs body heat provided some warmth to his naked form. âLooks like youâve had a long day, big guy,â Benjamin spoke down to him, arms bringing themselves to wrap around him. To this day, he wasnât sure what their relationship was. Friends with benefits? Lovers? He had no clue. All he knew, was that he enjoyed having the large man here in his arms. It was all that mattered.
Helping out with the chores around Benjaminâs land was a surprisingly simple way to calm Piotrâs occasional nervousness, finding his mind relaxed by the menial tasks. It was oddly reminiscent of back when he lived on the farm in Siberia, spending his childhood with his family until they were separated due to some rather painful circumstances. Piotr tried not to think of the final year or so and how it had changed his relationship with his parents and instead wanted to only focus on the happier times. Farm work had always been something that Piotr would do whether it was riding out the tractor, fixing up a fence or chopping the firewood like he was now. Milhail, his older brother, tended to skimp on some of his duties but Piotr had always made sure that they would be completed so that their father didnât grow angry. Illyana, his younger sister, had simply been too young to help out like she always wanted to but ended up settling for following her older brothers around even if they did not necessarily wish for her company. But those times were gone now, revisiting the farm was pointless given that no one even resided there⌠however part of him wanted to go back, just to see if the old place was still standing and if anything had become of it. Maybe he would find the time to Russia once more though his friends amongst the X-men would likely be hesitant to allow the visit given the last time he went over he lacked the intention to make the return until they went to find him. But he didnât plan to stay over there this time around, he wasnât even sure if he wanted to go this time around.
The idea of a shower was a thankful thought, Piotr being rather keen to wash away all the grime, dirt, sweat and shards off wood that had collected on his body and clothes, even in his hair. It wasnât entirely necessary for them to share the shower at once but Piotr did not complain, glad to spend some time with Benjamin given that he had disappeared for most of the day. At least it had left Piotr some time to be alone with his own thoughts, chopping away at the piles of firewood before resorting to his own metal hands when the axe had begun to dull. It also explained why there were so many shards in his hair, the splintering wood making a bit of a mess towards the end there. On the up side they had plenty of firewood for⌠well, it was likely for something other than heat given the fact that Benjamin was a walking furnace when he wanted to be. Perhaps it was just because he had a visitor.
An appreciative hum escaped Piotr when two, muscular arms curled around his waist. He moved his body back, resting heavily on the man behind him and embracing the wondrous warmth he was providing. Times like this were special to Piotr, being able to just enjoy his time with Benjamin without thinking about anything but the man standing with him. He rose a hand up, not saying a word as he wrapped it around the back of the Phoenixâs neck while his fingers absently scratched through Benjaminâs hair.
âI am just thinking that I have overdone it on the firewood,â he laughed, resting his head back on his lover of sorts.