Forever

CHAPTER TWELVE—FOREVER (still NC-17 for a reason)
 
 
 
A/N Thanks to all the reviewers, especially Foxfeather and
Internutter.  You gals kick ass! 
P.S.  Anything you recognize belongs to someone else,
even the idea for the story (cough Internutter cough).
 
 
 
 
 
           
“Where are they now?”  Professor Xavier rubbed his temples, his brows
wrinkled in consternation.
           
“Basement sublevel one, with Jubilee of all people.  Kitty wanted to go
through her boxes and Kurt offered to help.  Jubilee tagged along out of
boredom, I believe.”  Storm pressed the icepack Beast had given her to the
rapidly swelling goose egg on her forehead.  “I think it’s time that they
were told of the lawsuit.” 
           
The professor tapped his fingers against the cassette tape on his desk,
considering his options carefully. “Does Logan know of the tape?”
           
“Heavens, no!  Kurt would be dead even as we speak if Logan had heard
that.” 
           
“I’ll run this through the system downstairs, compare it with a sample of
Kitty’s voice.  To be perfectly honest, though, I don’t think this is her
and I know that this certainly is not Kurt.  The voice is American, for
one, and he simply is not the type to do something like this.”  Wheeling
past Storm, Professor Xavier placed a hand on her arm and murmured “Tell them
tonight, before dinner.  Next week is Spring Break for the children and we
are going to have to be extra vigilant.”  At her nod, he was gone, heading
towards the computer lab downstairs and it’s voice analysis software.
 
 
           
“I think that’s everything.”  Kitty stood, hands on her hips, surveying the
tiny storage area in the basement that had housed her belongings.  Now all
that was left was a pile of clothes to be taken to the local women’s shelter for
a donation.  She had been tempted to throw out the entire box marked “Photo
Albums,” knowing that all the photos they contained here of her life before the
Institute, the life that no longer wanted her.  Kurt had persuaded her
otherwise, though—‘Think of the kids, Katzchen.  What if they want to know
how your parents looked?  What kind of life you led before here?’ 
That was low—using my—our—future kids against me. 
           
“What’re you smirking ‘bout, Kit?”   Jubilee punctuated her question
with a loud pop of gum right in Kitty’s ear.
           
“Sheesh, Jubes!  Loud enough?”  Kitty nudged her playfully in the ribs
and Jubilee smiled wider, popping her gum with renewed vigor.  “I was just
thinking about the future.  How things that you think are forever really
aren’t and how things that aren’t supposed to last end up being
permanent.”  With a final sigh, she slung her arm around the Asian girl’s
shoulder and flipped the light switch, plunging the room into darkness. “C’mon,
Jubes.  Let’s get some ice cream.  Kurt could probably do with
something cold!”  The two girls wended their way up from the basement and
into the kitchen to find Kurt already there, downing a bottle of water. 
“Hey, sweetie.  Thanks for the help moving my stuff.”  Kitty wrapped
her arms around his waist and favored him with a kiss on the lips, kept short
for Jubilee’s benefit.  “I’ll thank you properly later,” she whispered in
his ear.  Jubilee merely rolled her eyes at Kurt’s delighted grin and began
her search for the hidden carton of Chunky Monkey in the freezer. 
           
“Ya know, you two are a real inspiration for the lovesick around here.  And
you just plain make the rest of us sick!”  Her tone made it obvious that
she was teasing them but Kitty had a feeling that Jubilee was hiding real pain
behind her words. 
           
“You’re just jealous, Jubilee.  You need kisses of your own to make you
stop thinking such negative thoughts…” Kurt leapt across the table and made a
grab for the short girl, missing as she squealed and dodged behind Kitty. 

           
“I don’t think so! You’re on your own!”  Kitty laughed and phased from the
other girl’s grasp, allowing Kurt to pass through her unintentionally. 

           
“Sorry, Liebes!”  He dashed after Jubilee as she ran into the rec room,
followed closely by Kitty. 
          p; p;
“Watch it, buddy!  I know Kung Fu!”  Jubilee drew herself into a comic
pose reminiscent of The Karate Kid and let out a war cry that fell
somewhere between a whooping crane’s vocalization and a cat screeching in
heat.  Kitty collapsed against the pool table in laughter as Kurt scratched
his head in mock puzzlement.
           
“I don’t think I want to kiss anything that sounds like that!” 
           
“Damn straight, Mister!  Besides, Kitty would kick my ass if you touched
me!”  Jubilee relaxed out of her pose and stuck her tongue out at the
couple.  “Now if you’re excuse me, Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry are awaiting my
arrival in the kitchen.  If I’m not mistaken, there’s some Chubby Hubby
with your name on it, Kitty.”  She fairly skipped from the room, leaving
Kurt and Kitty alone for the moment.  Kurt reached across the pool table to
touch Kitty’s face and opened his mouth to say something when a voice from the
arched doorway into the front hall interrupted them.
           
“Kurt, Kitty. Come with me, please.”  Storm looked somewhere between angry
and depressed as she led the teenagers into the library.  She motioned for
them to sit at one of the study tables scattered around the room and she took
the seat across from them, folding her hands in front of her as if expecting
them to begin the meeting.  “There seems to be a new wrinkle in your
problems, children.”  One hand moved to shove a thick envelope towards
Kitty.  Silence reigned as Kitty tentatively took the missive and slid the
contents out into her lap.
           
‘It looks like a legal thing.”  Her nose crinkled in confusion as she moved
to let Kurt look over her shoulder.  “Who is this from?”   bsp;bsp;          
“The state of New York, officially.  Your parents,
unofficially.”    Storm sat back in her chair and watched as
sickening realization crossed Kitty’s face.  The girl was flipping through
the pages at an amazing rate, skimming the accusations and terms of the
lawsuit. 
           
“I don’t believe this!”  Kitty flung the packet of papers back onto the
table and twisted in her seat to face Kurt.  “They’re pressing charges
against the Institute for contributing to the delinquency of a minor!” 

           
“I thought… I mean, Herr Logan…”  Kurt could not find the right words
without insulting Kitty.
           
“Technically, the State of New York is pressing charges, not the Prydes. 
However, it was their lawyer that delivered the…information…and it seems that
they were the ones who turned the Institute over to the district
attorney.”  Storm rose and began pacing.  “What we have here,
chen, en, is a large problem.  On top of this lawsuit, this morning I found
a tape in the Jeep that contained a recording of two people having sex. 
One of them seemed e Kie Kitty, at first, until the Professor ran it through the
voice scan equipment downstairs and it turned up a negative match for her
voice.”  Kitty was fuming beside Kurt, her face red with anger.  Storm
held up a placating hand, stemming the impending flow of words from the
girl.  “Honestly, it did startle me, hence the wreck.  However,
logically, I knew that it was not you.  She didn’t sound…right.  And
the male in question was not Kurt.  His voice was familiar to me but I
could not place it.  Now, taking these two events, the tape and the
lawsuit, into consideration, we—the Professor, Logan, Dr.McCoy and myself—feel
that it is imperative that you both follow the rules and keep away from each
other.  We need to make at least the appearance that no hanky panky is
going on here.” 
           
“Who the Hell planted that tape?”
           
“Katzchen, calm down…” Inside, Kurt was fuming, secretly glad that he had not
heard the tape.  His passions ran close to the surface and he was afraid
that he would have suffered a wave of jealousy and possibly said something he
would have regretted to Kitty if he had been the one who found the
cassette.  “How serious is this lawsuit?  I mean, what could
happen?”
           
“The Institute could be closed down.  Kitty could be removed to State
Custody, you could be arrested for statutory rape, we could be fined….or all of
the above.”  
           
“No.”  Kitty shook her head violently.  “No.  I’m not going to
let them do this.”  Quick as the cat that was her namesake, she was out of
her chair and out the door, leaving Kurt and Storm to stare at each other in
bewilderment. 
           
“Kitty is very headstrong, prone to act before thinking sometimes.  We need
to stop her before she does something regrettable.”  Storm moved off after
the girl, Kurt following soon after. 
           
He found her first; she was huddled in the small telephone room off the foyer,
punching in numbers angrily.  “Katzchen, what are you doing?”
           
‘Putting an end to all this bullshit.”  She held up a hand, silencing
him.  “It’s ringing….  “Ruth?  It’s me, your cousin Kitty. 
No, wait! Don’t hang up!  I need you to do something for me!”  Kitty
paused for a brief moment and Kurt could hear the tinny sounds of a girl’s voice
come across the lines.  “No, that’s not true.  Look, it’s a really
long story but you’re the only one who can help me right now.  I need for
you to get a message to my parents.  Tell them that pursuing the case will
only make them look stupid.  It will only show that they don’t know their
own blood.”  Kurt felt adrift; Kitty was speaking in some sort of
code.  It was obvious from the sounds coming across the line that her
cousin was confused, too.  “Just do it, please!  Look, one day soon
you’ll need my help just as much aneedneed yours now.  Please.  We’re
mishpachah.”[1]  After a few more minutes of tinny venting, Kitty made her
farewells and hung up the phone.  “There.  Now we just have to
wait.”
           
“Vas?  Kitty, what did you just do?”  Kurt took hold of her shoulders,
wanting to shake her for her insanity.
           
“I just chngednged the Prydes to a showdown at the O.K. Corral.”  Kitty
seemed inordinately pleased with herself.  “Now, let’s get some alone time
in before they catch on that we’re together and we have to be all Mission
Impossible to see each other.”  Kurt reluctantly followed her to her room,
an internal battle raging between panic and desire.  Mein Engel…There
must be horns holding that halo.  She’s a devil to my willpower.
  
 
           
“Look, Cajun, go play with Rogue and leave me be!”  Jubilee turned the
volume up as loud as it would go on her headset, drowning out Remy’s patter.
           
“I don’ want to go to her, eh?”  Remy grabbed the headset from the girl and
held it out of reach.  “I want to talk to you, fille.”
           
“Fucking hell!  Give me that!”  Jubilee jumped for the headset and
missed, crashing into the solid wall of Remy’s chest.  “Damn it, Le
Beau!” 
           
“And what’s going on in here, I wonder?”  Rogue’s honeyed tones drifted
from the direction of the doorway. 
           
“Nothing.”  Jubilee took advantage of Remy’s distraction to grab his coat
sleeve and drag his arm to her level.  “In fact, Gumbo here was just
looking for you…”  Slipping the headset over her ears, she danced out of
the room, flinging a rude gesture their way as if it were all part of the dance.

           
“I’m tinking dat girl have loads of prollems.”  Remy ran his hands through
his already messy hair.  “You two still fightin’?”
           
“Honestly, I never knew we were.  She still hasn’t talked to me since that
night, though.”  Rogue sighed to herself and drew her spine up
straight.  “I guess I had better go talk to her before things get worse,
huh?” 
     &;&nb;     
“I be tinking dat’s a good idea, chere.”  Remy winked at her, inwardly
pleased when she blushed.  Dat Rogue be a lovely fille mais I be
thinking she nothin’ but trouble.  Rogue sashayed off in the direction
Jubilee had disappeared, leaving Remy silently thanking whichever god had
created Southern women.  He turned to find Amara lurking in the shadows,
edging towards the phone.  “Lookin’ for something, cherie?” 
           
“I need to use the phone, Swamp Rat.” Amara snarled at Remy, actually baring her
teeth at him.
           
“Après vous, chienne…”[2]  Remy bowed mockingly, glad to be bilingual for
that instant.  Amara merely sniffed and swept past him on her way to the
phone in the rec room.  Mebbe Jubilee be right and she be sneakin’
roun’, up to no good.  Or mebbe she jus’ have herself a homme who she want
to meet up with… With a distinctly Gallic shrug, Remy fished a cigarette out
of his pocket and went out on the porch to smoke.  Blood will
out.  Jubilee’s shriek startled him into choking on his smoke a few
minutes later and he found himself taking the stairs two at a time, ahead of
Scott and Evan, heading towards the sound.  Rogue stood in the hall,
banging her hegaingainst the wall and muttering “not again, not again!” 
Jubilee was covering her eyes and babbling apologies in at least three languages
to no one in particular.  “What happen in here?”
           
Rogue pointed in the direction of Kitty’s room and practically wailed “Would
someone get them a fucking lock for that door?”  Kitty tumbled out of said
door a moment later, her clothes on inside out and backwards.&; Ku; Kurt
followed, his hair and fur ruffled and his shirt only half-on.
           
“Ah.  Well.”  Scott flushed a dull red and backed away slowly. “Sorry,
man.  As you were…”  He grabbed Evan by the elbow and dragged the
gawking skater back down the stairs. 
           
“Man, we have got to get them their own room for that shit,” Evan’s voice
carried up the stairs.
           
“Dude, why don’t you warn a girl before you start getting freaky like
that?”  Jubilee had finally recovered enough to form coherent sentences and
was flaming red.
           
“Usually people knock!”  Kitty was more embarrassed than angry at being
caught a second time. 
           
“Mes apologies; I jus’ be leaving you to it, then.”  Remy sketched a salute
in Kurt’s direction and made to move down the hall when Kitty’s voice halted his
steps.
           
“Take Jubilee and Rogue with you!  I’m sick of them arguing!” 
            
“Your wish is my command, p’tite chatte!”  Kitty shoved Jubilee towards
Remy, Rogue following perforce.  He took both girls by an elbow and led
them down the stairs but not before he hear Kurt complaining bitterly about
Remy’s pet name for Kitty.  ‘You’re mein Katzchen!  Not his!’ Well,
mon ami knows enough French to know what I’ve been calling her. Wonder what else
he has up his sleeves?  Leading the silent girls into the empty dining
room, he gestured for them to sit down.  He crossed his arms and set his
ruby gaze on both petulant faces. “Now.  Why don’ one of you femmes tell
ol’Remy why he’s causin’ dese fights between de two of you.”
            
“Don’t flatter yourself, Cajun.”  Jubilee rolled her eyes, slinking lower
in her seat. 
             
“We’re not fighting over you.  I don’t think we are at any rate…” 
Rogue shifted her eyes to take in Jubilee, seemingly judging her chances of
leaving the room without getting jumped again.
              
“You know damned well he’s not the problem, Rogue.  He’s just the
whatchamacallit. The cat-thing…. Oooooh.  Damn it!  Catalyst!” 

              
“Why that?”  Dis should be very interesting, oui?
               
“None of your business.  It’s between me and her.”  Jubilee jerked her
thumb at Rogue, daring the Cajun to declare otherwise.
               
“Why don’ I just be leavin’ you two to talk, den?  I jus’righright outside
de door should…prollems…arise.”  Remy turned his back on them, expecting
the cat fight to start immediately.  He could not resist pressing his ear
against the door once he was on the other side to hear their argument. 
I always seem to have dis effect on des femmes…
 
         “So tell
me…why’d you decide I needed my ass kicked last week?”
         “You broke
your promise.sp; sp; Jubilee knew she sounded sulky but she could not help
it.
         “Huh? Girl,
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Rogue made as if to stand but
Jubilee motioned for her to stay put.  Placing a finger over her lips,
telling Rogue to be quiet, Jubilee silently moved to the door.  When she
was a few feet away, she sprang into a fierce spinning heel kick, slamming her
foot into the door.  A muffled yelp on the other side told them that yes,
Remy had been listening and yes, he was gone now… 
          
“You knew that I like…liked…Remy.  You knew that I was making a play for
him.  But you had to go and be all sexy and Rogue and now he’s
panting after you!”  Jubilee huffed herself into a straight back chair,
glaring at Rogue.
          
“Jubes, I can’t help what I feel and neither can he.” 
           
“Bullshit.  You turn it off and on like water.  Besides…besides, he’s
the only one who can understand me.”  Jubilee’s voice had gotten very small
and Rogue had to strain to hear the last part.
             
“Oh, honey, I understand you.”
     
      “No, you don’t. You have no idea what it’s
like to be thief.  You may have shoplifted something stupid back in
Meridian, but you never had to steal to live.  I stole my own honor,
Rogue.  No one here understands that except for me and Remy.  Now I’m
all alone, thanks to you.”
           
“Is that why you chopped off your hair?  You were mad at us?”
           
“Not ‘us’, you.  He can’t help himself.  You’re like catnip to men,
you know that?  Just wiggle your hips and they come running.  Me, I
have to beg a guy to talk to me.  Fuck that shit, Rogue.  Fuck prissy
Jubilee.  I’m a street punk, kiddo, and I hid under those Mall Rat rags for
too long.  To thine own self be true!”  With that, Jubilee stomped
from the room, past Remy who was still rubbing his ear, past Amara who was
trying to look sneaky and failing miserably, and into her own room.  When
she had the door securely locked behind her, she burst into ragged sobs and
collapsed onto the bed, curling in on her own pain.
 
           
“Kitty!  Phone!”  Logan could hear her stumbling around her room and
growled in the realization that she was not alone.  I can’t kill him
yet.  Chuck’s got enough problems as it is…  Kitty clattered down
the stairs and batter her eyelashes innocently at Logan.  She smelled
heavily of Lily of the Valley perfume, a scent she knew L hat hated. 
Kid’s too smart for her own good.  No way am I going to take a deep
whiff of that crap she’s wearing. 
  &nbnbspnbsp;       
“Thanks.  Who is it?”  She held the phone to her thigh, muffling the
receiver.
           
“Says her name’s Ruth.  Says she’s your cousin.  Want to tell me
something, Kitty?”  He stood firm, clearly intending to remain for the
duration of the conversation. 
            
“Um, not really…”  Kitty plastered a fake smile on her face and chirped a
greeting into the receiver.  After several “uh-huhs” and one “oy!” she hung
up.  “Logan, you love me?”
             
“Why?”  Women who ask that always cause trouble. 
            
“I think I may have done something kind of…not specifically good.”[3] 
Kitty was chewing on her thumbnail, a nervous habit akin to Kurt twisting his
tail in his hands. 
             
“How not specifically good are we talking here?”  I smell
trouble.
           
“My folks are coming back up this week.  I kind of…well, I guess I
threatened them.” 
            
“Damn it, Half Pint.  Trouble just follows you, doesn’t it?”  A tug in
the region of his heart led Logan to put one arm gruffly around Kitty’s
shoulders as her eyes welled with tears. 
            
“I’m sorry, Logan.  I thought I could get them to drop the suit against the
Professor but I think I just made it worse!” 
             
“Kid, we’ll get through this.  For now, though, just lay low.  Stay
away from the phone, for crying out loud, and don’t get caught with Kurt. 
Better yet, don’t be alone with him.  If this case goes to trial, we need
all the evidence we can get that you two don’t carry on while you’re
underage.  Got it?”  Kitty sniffed miserably into his leather jacket,
nodding just enough to let Logan know that she heard him.  “Go find
Jean.  I think she was making cookies.  Maybe she’ll let you have some
dough.  You like dough, right?”  Logan had a dim memory of a similar
girl eating a spoonful of cookie dough while sitting at a kitchen table. 
Mother? Sister? Daughter?  Girlfriend?  Damn it. Why can’t my
flashbacks be useful sometimes?” 
 
 
          Kitty
and Kurt managed to stay away from each other until after dinner.  Assigned dis dish duty, Kitty was elbow-deep in wash water when Kurt came in bearing
another stack of plates. Mindful of Storm’s watchful eye, Kurt placed the dishes
carefully in the sink and smiled at Kitty in what he hoped as a non-lecherous
manner.  “Thanks, honey.”  She beamed at him, sending a jolt straight
to his heart. 
           
“My pleasure, Mein Schatz.”  Kurt quickly pinched her backside as he walked
past her, earning a sharp glance from Storm when Kitty jumped at the unexpected
goosing.  “Vas?  My hand slipped!”  Kurt dashed from the room,
just ahead of a flung dishtowel. 
           
Kitty finished the dishes and Storm escorted her to her room, waiting while she
got ready for bed.  “Are you going to lock me in, too?”
           
“Actually, yes.”  Storm produced a key from within the sleeve of her
flowing robe.  “This key locks the door from the outside and you will be
unable to leave unless someone unlocks the door with this key.” 
           
“That doesn’t sound very safe.  What if there’s a fire?  Or an
earthquakbsp;bsp; What if my appendix ruptures?”
        
   “We will come get you in any case.”  Storm moved to the
door, pulling it shut behind her.  From outside thick wood, Kitty heard a
muffled “Good night” before the click of the bolt sliding home. 
             
“Well, shit.”  Flouncing down on the bed, Kitty glared at the door. 
It’s eight thirty on a Saturday night and I’m in bed.  Kurt’s probably
in the rec room.  Or he might even be in bed, too.  Kurt…bed…DAMN
IT!  Kitty glared at the television across the room, tempted to turn it
on just for the noise but deciding that it would be more of an annoyance than a
help.  She stood and paced the length of the room, considering the events
of the day.  One, I fuck up royally and end up getting my “parents”
coming down again.  Two, Kurt and I are on lockdown.  Couldn’t even
sit with him at dinner.  Three…okay.  I don’t have a three, unless you
count unresolved sexual tension warring with common sense. Damned
hormones.  Why am I so obsessed with being near Kurt?  What if we have
to be in separate cities one day?  How am I going to deal with that then?
What if, God forbid, one of us dies on a mission?  Fully depressed now,
Kitty turned off her light and lay back on the bed, not sleepy or even tired,
just staring at the blackness of her ceiling and feeling abjectly lonely. 
Kurt will come find me.  He’s always good about that.
 
     “What do you mean, she’s in
bed?  It’s not even nine o’clock!”  Kurt wrapped his tail around the
beam crossing the Danger Room’s simulated ravine and dropped down over Evan’s
head.  “Who told you she was in bed?”
     “Aunt ‘Ro.  She said—oof!—that
Kitty went to bed early tonight!”  Evan rubbed his shor whr where he had
slammed into the wall and launched himself at Kurt.  “Sure you don’t want
to use powers, man?” 
     “Ja.  I’ve got a lot
of…frustration…to work out today.”  Kurt disappeared into the shadows above
Evan’s head, his voice the only trace of his existence.  “They’re trying to
keeps us apart.  It’s making me angry.” 
      “You think I don’t know,
man?  I was your babysitter for the week!”  Well, kinda. 
“Sorry I didn’t do a good job of it.  I think.” 
      “It’s okay, Ev.  So much
stuff happened this week, it’s good that you were so, um, relaxed about
it.”  Evan was looking in the direction of Kurt’s voice but still missed
the downward swing of the other boy’s feet into his chest.  Evan flew
backwards and hit the wall with a thud.  “Sorry, mein Freund…  Want to
call it an evening?”  Kurt hurried over to where Evan sat against the wall,
catching his breath.
       “Yeah… man, you weren’t
kidding about having frustrations to work out!”  Helped to his feet by
Kurt, Evan signaled for the simulation to be shut off and the two met Jamie on
the other side of the sliding doors.  “What’s up, kid?”
       Making a face at the
appellation, Jamie said, “Rogue and Jubilee are fighting again.  Wanna come
watch?”  The boy seemed more upset than excited, indicating his sensitive
nature. 
      “Um, is anyone trying to break
it up?”  Evan sped up the pace, following Jamie’s lead down the hall.
       “Jean is hitting them
both with a wooden spoon and trying to separate them with her powers.  I
don’t think it’s working, though.  Where’s Kitty?  She broke them up
last time…”
        “Mein Freundin is
in bed.”  Kurt glowered at everything in his path.  “Where’s
Remy?”
        “Dunno.” 
Jamie waved them into the kitchen.  Signs of a fight were readily
evident—dishes broken on the floor, a bowl of cookie dough dumped onto the
counter.  Flour was scattered across every flat surface and scraps of
material littered the space like confetti.  “Huh.  Wonder where they
went?”  A screech from outside answered that question.
         Jamie dashed
outside via the mudroom door; Evan shrugged and followed, albeit at a slower
pace.  “You coming, man?”
         “Sure, right
behind you!”  Kurt waited until Evan disappeared out the door before
‘porting directly into Kitty’s room.  It was dark but he could see the
Kitty-shaped lump under the covers.  She shifted and sat up, here eyes
unfocused in the darkness.  “Katzchen, it’s just me.”
          “I
know.  Who else teleports around here?”  She patted the bed next to
her and he moved to join her, stepping around the boxes he had moved up
earlier.  “We’re gonna get in trouble if we’re caught, you know.”
          “Ja, I
know.  But everyone is distracted for the moment—Jubilee and Rogue are
fighting again.”
          
“Ugh.  I wish one or both of them would just get over Remy and move
on!”  Kitty flopped back onto her pillows and groaned.  “Girls are
silly.”
         
“You’re a girl.  I don’t think you’re silly.”  Kurt poked her gently
in the stomach, his white teeth flashing in the dark.
          
“No, I’m stupid, though.” 
         
“Vas?  Don’t talk like that, Katzchen!”  Even Kitty could see his
brows snap down in the dark, a sure sign of displeasure.
         “You know
that call I made earlier?  Well, my folks are coming down again.  This
coming week, as a matter of fact.  I don’t know what they’re going to do
but I think I can call their bluff.”
          “How
is that stupid?”  Kurt lay down next to her, not quite touching her but
close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin.  “Sounds like you
have a plan.”
          
“Yeah, but it may expose the Institute if this goes to trial.  Kurt, do you
realize that they may arrest you?  I mean, handcuffs, orange jumpsuit,
no holo…”  She felt him stiffen next to her and choked back rising
tears.  “I’ve made your life miserable, haven’t I?  All I do is cause
frustration and stress…”  Kitty rolled away from him and buried her face in
her pillow.
          
“Katzchen, I think you’re too self pitying lately.  Sorry, but it’s
true.”  He reached out and stopped her from getting up.  “I’m not
being mean, Engelchen,[4]but I think that you need to just…take a deep breath
and calm down.”
          
“You may be right, Kurt, but it’s just so hard for me to take this calmly. 
I want to get it all fixed now, I don’t want to wait, to play nice and
keep apart.”
          
A thought occurred to Kurt—“Katzchen, are you afraid that I’ll leave you if we
have to stay apart?”
         
“What?  No!  I mean, yes.  I mean…oh, damn.  Why do you
think that?”  Kitty had moved back towards Kurt, now hiding her face in his
chest. He could feel the heat suffusing her face and knew that he had guessed
correctly. 
          
“Just a hunch.  Liebes, listen to me.  I’m always going to be
here.  I waited for you through Lance, through Tabitha and Amanda…I can
wait through your parents and a few months of school.”  Kitty’s only
response was to sniff back her tears against his shoulder.  Kurt stroked
her hair back from her forehead, murmuring endearments into her ear.  “Ich
lieve dich,[5] forever and a day.” 
            
“Netzach…” Kitty tilted her face up to meet Kurt’s eyes. 
            
“Vas?” Kitty’s gone crackers…
           
“Netzach.  It means eternity and victory.  It’s a middos, an attribute
or spiritual emotion.[6]  In Judaism, Creation has these attributes and
Netzach is the ability of the soul to overcome adversity and bestow goodness on
Creation.”[7]  Kitty propped herself up on one elbow and captured a lock of
Kurt’s hair between her fingers.  “That’s what I think we’re doing. 
Bestowing goodness on Creation.”
           
Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat and it took several moments before he
could respond. “How are we doing that, Katzchen?”
           
“We love each other without reservation.  I mean, yeah, we’re young, but
sometimes that’s okay.  Who says you have to be a certain age to know
love?  We’re mutants and some people think that we’re less than human, more
like animals or failed abortions than people.  But Kurt, we love each other
and love is something that is nontransmutable.”
           
“So by loving each other, no matter what happens to us or around us, we’re
bringing goodness into the world?”
           
“Yes.  We’re not hating people who want to stop us.  Hate begets hate,
love begets love.”  Kitty leaned forward and pressed her lips to his chin,
missing his mouth in the dark.  “Hmmm.  Not the effect I was hoping
for but you get my drift.”
           
“Katzchen, you can be quite poetic when you’re in the right mood.”
           
“I can be a lot of things when I’m in the right mood…” The sounds of footsteps
pelting down the hall invaded the couple’s privacy.  “Damn it.  Fight
broke up.”  Kitty rolled off of Kurt and sat up, head in her hands. 
“This is going to be harder than I thought.”
           
“Ja.  But, Kitty, we can do this.  I believe what you just said. 
We’ll find ways to see each other while all of this is going on.  You said
yourself that sex was not the most important thing to you…”
           
“Yeah, but doesn’t it make life more interesting?”  Kitty smiled wanly and
let Kurt hug her tightly in the dark. 
           
“I had better go…” Verdammt lawsuit.  Verdammt everything!
           
“I love you, Kurt.  No matter what happens, remember that.”  Kitty
blinked at his sudden disappearance and grimaced at the sulphrous fumes left in
his wake.  Maybe I can figure out some way to fumigate whatever
dimension that is…  Kitty slid off the bed and dropped to her knees,
groping past the dust ruffle in the dark until her fingers brushed the object of
her search.  Good.  Still here.   The thick, old
fashioned photo album felt cool against her fingertips.  She had not opened
it since Yaya died and did not intend to anytime soon, wanting to prevent the
memories of her beloved grandmother from flooding her with sadness all over
again.  Kitty clasped the book to her chest and crawled into bed, savoring
the smell of old paper and dust and that last, faint hint of her grandmother’s
house.  She fell asleep and dreamt of Greece, of Kurt, and of little blue
demon babies. 
 
           
Insistent knocking drew Jubilee out of bed.  “Whatcha want?  It’s
Sunday, for crying out loud!”  She stumbled down the stairs, dimly
wondering why no one else was answering the door.  Cuz it’s Sunday, for
crying out loud.  Kitty, if things were running true to form, was in
the mansion’s gym, yoga-ing her heart out.  Everyone else was scattered to
their various houses of worship or Sunday morning activities in town.  I
swear, if this isn’t something good, I’m gonna shove sparkles up their
nose!  “Who is it?”  The Asian girl did not give them time to
answer before flinging the door open.  She was shoved aside by a tall, dark
haired man and his female companion, a brassy blonde with dark roots. 
“Wait a goddamned second here!  Who are you?”  Jubilee ran ahead of
them and threw out her arms, effectively baring the hallway. 
           
“We’re Kitty’s biological parents.  Where is she?  Where’s that man
who runs this school?”  Mr. Pryde fairly growled at Jubilee but was sorely
disappointed at it’s lack of effect.
           
“Lookee here, buddy, no one barges into our home like this.  Go sit your
happy asses down in the hall and I’ll get the Professor to come speak with
you.  Got it?”  She punctuated this with a sharp jab at the man’s
chest.
           
“No respect for your elders.  What is this school teaching you
people?  Freaks running around in demon costumes, now this…” Mrs. Pryde
drew herself up straight, glaring down her nose at Jubilee.  “I don’t
appreciate this, young lady.  Not one whit.  I’ll see that this school
is closed down so fast it’ll make your head spin!” 
           
“Sure, lady.  Look, cool your jets and I’ll go get someone else to put up
with your bitchitude.”  Jubilee turned her back defiantly on the Prydes,
waiting until she had turned the corner before letting herself shake. 
“Damn.  Kitty’s folks got issues.”  She wiped her arm across
her mouth and cast about for someone to help.  I wonder if Beastie Boy
is still here…  She found the nearest intercom and punched in the code
for the lab.  “Dr. McCoy?  You there?” 
           
“Yes, Jubilation?  What can I do for you?”  His voice sounded thick,
coming across the intercom as it was. 
           
“Um, you’d better come up to the front hall, toute de suite!”  She could
hear the Prydes complaining loudly about the school and it sounded as if they
might come down the hall to find her. 
           
“Right-o, Jubilee.  Be there shortly.” 
As soon as Beast clicked out,
Jubilee jogged back down the hallway and intercepted the couple.  “Dr.
McCoy will be here in a sec.  Um, can I get you coffee?  Tea? 
Beer?” Smooth, Jubes.  Real smooth.  Sneaking a surreptitious
glance at her watch, she saw that the others would begin trickling in
soon.  Should I go get Kitty?  Nah. Don’t want to harsh her mellow
just yet.  The front door swung open behind her and, by the widening of
the Prydes’ eyes, she knew who had come in.  “Hello, Kurt.”
“Gute Morgen, Jubilee. 
Where’s….”  His voice trailed off as he came level with his friend. 
“Mein Gott.  This can’t be happening.”  Kurt had shut of his holo when
he got out of the car, as was his habit, and now he stood before Kitty’s parents
in his blue furry glory. 
“Do you ever take that thing
off?”  Mr. Pryde edged closer to Kurt, peering at him through squinted
eyes. 
“Vas?”  Kurt slanted his eyes
towards Jubilee and saw she was just as confused as he was.
“That costume.  Say…it
is good, though.  Can’t even see where the makeup lines are.” 
Mr. Pryde reached out and tuggedan ean ear. 
“Hey!  Back off!”  Kurt
‘ported about three feet away.
“What the fuck!”  Mr. Pryde
staggered back into his wife’s grasp.  Both of them looked as if they did
not know whether to scream or pass out. 
“Keep your hands off my friend,
freak!”  Jubilee stepped defensively in front of Kurt when Mr. Pryde moved
towards him again.
“I’m the freak?  Look at
him!  This is what Kitty’s been…consorting…with?  My God, this
is sick!”  Mr. Pryde did not even seem to notice as his wife slumped
towards the ground. 
Kurt growled now, fully
Nightcrawler.  Jubilee backed away just slightly, trying to keep in mind
that this was Kurt, the same guy who wrote mushy poetry to Kitty, the same guy
who bandaged Jamie’s knee when he fell off Evan’s skateboard.  The same
guy who looks like he’s going to rip Mr. Pryde’s throat out…  “Kurt,
man, just try and calm down.”
“Nein!  You people have no
hold over Kitty anymore!  What are you doing here!”  Kurt’s tail
whipped from side to side, reminding Jubilee of a lion she saw once at the San
Diego Zoo.  He was be taunted by some boys throwing sticks at him over the
plexiglass barricade.  Just before the lion pounced, scaring the piss out
of the grade schoolers by slamming into the wall in front of them, his tail had
swished just like that.  “Ich bin nicht das Monster für das Sie mich
halten”[8]  He had reverted to German without thinking, not really caring
that the Prydes could not understand him.  “Kitty tried to please you for
years and now you throw her aside, give her away the come back to make her life
even more of a living Hell than it already is? Wie können Sie es wagen, sie so
zu behandeln?"[9]
“I have no idea what the Hell
you’re saying, Fuzzy, but I think it’s time to let the grownups play.” 
Jubilee saw Beast enter the front hall out of the corner of her eye. Kurt made a
sharp gesture with his hand, dismissing Jubilee. 
“They have no idea what they’ve
done.”
“I know exactly what we’ve
done.  We cut ties with an embarrassment, an aberration of nature.  We
just have one tiny glitch in the plan—what to tell everyone in Chicago? The
truth makes us look bad.  Kitty makes us look bad.”  Mr. Pryde had
finally noticed his wife and was trying to sit her upright.
“Here, let me help you with
her.”  Dr. McCoy lumbered into the room and slid his massive hands beneath
Mrs. Pryde’s armpits. 
“Just what the Hell are
you?”  Mr. Pryde had gone disturbingly white around the lips and was
shaking quite badly.  Jubilee was tempted to offer him some water but
decided that she would rather watch the scene play out; she sat back on the
wooden bench near the coat closet and smiled in anticipation. 
“I am Doctor Henry McCoy,
MD.  Who, may I ask, are you?”  Dr. McCoy had lifted Mrs. Pryde into
his arms and was moving her into the nearby study to lay her out on the
couch.
“I’m Mort Pryde. 
Katherine’s…whatever.”  He was still shaking but was eying Dr. McCoy with
suspicious interest.  “Are you…related to…that?”  He jerked a thumb at
Kurt who surprised him by hissing near his ear.  Kurt was closer than Mr.
Pryde realized, causing the older man to jump and squeak like a girl.
“Kurt is a student here. We are of
no relation.”  Hank was checking Mrs. Pryde over, letting Mr. Pryde’s
inferred insults roll off his back.  Lord, what fools these mortals
be…[10]  “Is your wife prone to fainting spells?”
“Look, this…freak of nature…has
violated our daughter and we want to see him tried for it.”  Mr. Pryde had
decided on a self-righteous tack.
“If I’m not mistaken, Kitty is
your daughter in biology only now.”  Beast rocked back on his heels and
assessed Mr. Pryde coldly.  Jubilee raised her eyebrows nearly to her
hairline—This is news to me…
“We’ll take care of that in
court.  We were forced to give her up under duress…  Kurt, or
whatever you call him, violated our pure, innocent Kitty and made her into this
whore!” 
“Ihre Verbrechen sind schlimmer
als meine!"[11]  Kurt paced the room, trying to keep his temper in
check.  “I am only guilty of loving Kitty.  You betrayed her even
before she was born!  You stole whatever childhood she would have had to
make her into some whipping boy for your guilt!” 
“Kurt, I think you need to go with
Jubilee now.”  Hank nodded to the Asian girl, silently asking for her to
come and get Kurt before Mr. Pryde touched the fuse to his emotional powder
keg.  Too late! 
As Jubilee reached Kurt, the Mr.
Pryde drew back his fist and let fly a punch that should have connected with
Kurt’s jaw, if he had not ducked.  Jubilee staggered backwards, into Hanks’
chest.  “Son of a bitch!”  Her face throbbing in pain, blood spurting
from her nose, Jubilee let fly a spray of pafs that temporarily blinded
Mr. Pryde, scorching his brows and reddening his face.  Jubilee shook
herself, fighting Hank’s grasp.  Kurt looked stunned in her eyes, all anger
drained from his face.  I wonder if he’s pale under his fur? 
Huh.  I think my nose is broken.  Jubilee staggered a few more
steps before the pain was too much.  “I think…I think I need to sit
down.”  She collapsed to car carpet, smearing blood all over the Oriental
rug.  “Ooooh.  Chuck’s gonna kill me…”
“Shit!  I hit a kid…” Mr.
Pryde was babbling inanely, rubbing his eyes as if he could remove the silver
stars currently dancing before them.
“You had no qualms about hitting
Kurt and he’s barely older than she is.”  Hank’s calm exterior was
gone.  He was trying to staunch the flow of blood from Jubilee’s nose while
checking for other injuries but Mr. Pryde’s words made his hackles rise. 

“Kurt’s a thing.  He’s not a
kid—she is a kid.  God, what did she do to me?”
Mrs. Pryde was stirring on the
couch when the sound none of them wanted to hear broke through the room. 
“What’s going on in here?  Why are my parents here already?  Oh, my
God!  Jubilee!”   
 
 
TBC


[1] Yiddish/Hebrew for family/relatives.  It can
also connote a deep connection, which is what Kitty is inferring here.
[2] After you, bitch. (French is your friend
sometimes.)
[3] At Woodstock in 1969, they broadcasted a warning on
the PA that they brown acid was “not specifically good” and to avoid it if
possible, but hey “it’s your trip, man”.  I just always thought the “not
specifically good” part was kind of funny. 
[4] My little angel (Thanks Foxfeather!)
[5] “I love you”
[6] I had to get the precise definition from
www.jewishpath.org since my own definition is a little more rambling than the
academic one. 
[7] www.inner.org has a better explanation of this, as
well.  Just in case you’re interested.
[8] I am not the monster you think I am. (Thanks again
to the translator par excellance, Foxfeather.)
[9] How dare you treat her like this?
[10] From A Midsummer Night’s Dream
[11] Your crimes are worse than mine!