the sketchbook

You threw down the paper work you had been doing for the last hour. You groaned and rubbed your eyes.
You heard a knock on on your classroom door. grateful for the interruption, you invited the person in.
Lo and behold, it was Colossus, your favorite person. But you weren’t about to tell him-or anyone else- that. you didn’t want to jeopardize the ever-growing friendship you two had formed
You were happy to see the handsome Russian, but less than thrilled to see the files he was holding in his hands.
“Hello y/n!” He said cheerfully. You loved that about him; his cheerfulness.
Ater you decided to function like a human aroud him, you managed a shy “Hi, Colossus”.
“These are for you. They are full of information on the new students.”
“Oh my god..Of course they are. Just put them right here.” You cleared a spot on your desk.
He put them down.
“Thank you.”
“You look busy”, he said, sympathy in his voice.
“Oh, I am. Xavier has given me plenty of lecture material.” You said, gazing up at him.
“That sounds like him.” He said with a small chuckle. “Well..I have to get going, but if you would like any help, I will be in my classroom.” He offered politely.
“Thank you, Colossus.” You said, shooting him a shy smile.
“Of course.” He said as he slipped out the door.
You looked through the files, then picked up the one on top. There was a book under it.
‘That’s weird’ you thought. You picked it up and ran your fingers along the cover. It had no title, but it did have several dog eared pages, small rips and tears, and little riges where the paper had been torn out.
You decided to open it and see what it was. On the first page there was a message written, it was in Russian.
‘Okay, even weirder.’ You thought and decided to put it into google translate.
It read:
Dear brother,
Happy Birthday! this is my gift to you, I hope you will fill the pages with things that make you happy.
Love,
Illyana.
Your heart nearly stopped. The book belonged to Colossus.
Fuck! you shouldn’t be looking at this. You slammed it shut. He probably gave it to you on accident with the files.
You’d return it later, after you finished your work so you slid it to the corner of your desk.
The book, it seemed to taunt you.
“Fill the pages with things that make you happy”
What the hell what that supposed to mean?. Did he write? Draw? Photography? What made him happy?
Everything in you told you not to look at the contents of the book. You were a good, decent person. certainly not the type to snoop. You needed to respect his privacy. But then again, one little peek wouldn’t hurt. You were dying to know what was in there.
Before you made an impulsive decision, you forced yourself to stop what you were doing and get yourself to his classroom to return the book.
You knocked on the door, hoping he was still there.
“Come in.”
You stepped in, coming face to face with Colossus sitting at his desk.
“Hey, Piotr.”
“Y/n! Hello!”
“Um, I think you accidentally put this with the students’ files you brought me earlier.” You said holding up the book.
“Oh good! my sketchbook. I was wondering where that went. Thank you for bringing it back.”
Sketchbook
He could draw. How adorable.
“I didn’t know you could draw.”
“Oh..uh, yes. It’s just sketches and little doodles mostly.”
“That’s amazing!” You said, suddenly really excited.
“Would you like to see?” He asked innocently. Your heart almost jumped out of your chest.
“Yes of course, I would love to.”
He handed you the book.
The pages were full of scenery, various plants, and little oddities. You flipped to the next page.
Your eyes grew wide at what you saw. It was you. He drew you! It was you in the garden, wearing that dumb sun hat that you loved, despite it being way too big for you.
“Hey!” You exclaimed, “that’s me!”
You looked at him, holding up the book as if he didn’t know what you were talking about. A huge grin spread across your face.
“Oh! you are not supposed to see that!.” A panicked expression on his face. He reached out to pull the book out of your hands, but you pulled out of his reach.
Eventually, he accepted defeat.
You could see him racking his brain for words to say.
“I hope you do not mind I drew you without your permission…” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “You’re my muse sometimes, when I have art block, I draw you…you..inspire me.” He said avoiding your gaze. “I um, I had art block for weeks until I saw you in the garden that day. You were wearing the hat you always wear to garden..and you were so determined not to let that fern die, it made me smile. I just had to draw you.” he muttered, majorly embarrassed.
At this point you were screaming internally. You made him smile!
You blushed. “I uh..I don’t mind at all, I’m quite flattered actually.” You said walking over to him, holding out the sketch book.
“Really?” He asked, taking it and hugging it to his chest. ‘How adorable’ you thought.
“Of course! In fact…I think you should draw me more often.” Damn, you were smooth.
“Is that an invitation?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, it is” you smiled up at him. “Do you wanna meet in the garden tomorrow? I’ll wear my big, dumb hat.”
“And dinner after?” He questioned. Damn, it was his turn to be smooth.
“I would like that very much.”
“Great!”
“Great.”, you repeated. “Well I better get back to work.”
“Have fun.” He said sarcastically.
“Always.” You replied, matching his sarcasm.