Carne Vale

CARNE VALE CHAPTER THIRTEEN (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, I think I am getting a handle on the ch sounds...the u's are another matter...lol. InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are fantabulous for archiving. Makes me feel all tingly inside. :) Readers/Reviewers: Happy Mardi Gras! Whooooooohooooooo! The Killer Kitties (tm) ran by with beads and crowns...I think they stole them. Watch for the Zulus and eat lots-o-King Cake today.

Beast was hoping against all hope that he would have a peaceful day. He was still seething inside about the Danger Room incident the night before and decided the furthest he would go would be to buffer Logan's inevitable outburst against Kitty and the others. _Cecilia thinks this is some sort of asylum now, I'm fairly certain. I want her to see that mutants can have fulfilling lives, nearly normal in most cases, without sacrificing either part of themselves. Maybe I can salvage this... _ He could hear her footsteps padding to the kitchen and sent a prayer of thanks to whichever gods favored him that almost all the residents of the institute were out and about. "Cecilia," he said genially, brandishing a cup of coffee at her as she entered the kitchen, "I trust your night ended better than it began?"
She smiled, a small expression but genuine nonetheless, and said with morning hoarseness, "Well, let's just call it an interesting night and leave it at that. The girl in the room next to me was sick most of the evening..."
"Oh. Tabitha. Yes. She's entering her second trimester and seems prone to nausea." Beast pushed the small tray bearing cream and sugar towards his fellow doctor and added a spoon to the menagerie. "The girls here seem to have taken her on as their pet project, as it were. All in all, I can't find fault with it. Sort of a living object lesson about unprotected sex."
Cecilia frowned slightly. "Is the father a mutant as well?"
His cup halfway to his lips, Beast paused. "Um, why do you ask?"
"My research...I've been trying to track how mutations are passed, how they develop. For example, if a telepath and a," she gestured vaguely, not exactly sure of all the types of mutants out there."
"A pyrokinetic?" he suggested dryly.
"There's such a thing?" she asked with dull wonder. Shaking her head, she continued, "If a telepath and a pyrokinetic have child, will that child's mutation follow the parents, like eye and hair color, or is it specific to the offspring?" She stared into the depths of her coffee and sighed. "This is all still new to me..."1
Beast felt a pang of feeling, though he was not sure if it was sympathy or something else. Boldly, he reached across the table and laid one massive blue hand on her much smaller, normal one. "Cecilia, I understand. You're a scientist. Your world is order and things that fit neatly into categories to be taken apart and put back together. I'm the same way. The thing is, I've learned there were more categories than what we've been lead to believe."
Cecilia looked up from her contemplation of the coffee and studied Beast's face intently, settling on his eyes with an intensity that began to make him feel unsettled. He felt frozen and unsure, all the things he had wanted to say to her, the letters he had wanted to send her a million times over, bubbled to the surface. He clasped his hand around hers and stroked his thumb over her palm, her small start of surprise not lost on him. "Cecilia, I know we've spoken before about the possibility of you joining us here," he began.
"Hank, you know I can't do that, not yet," she said, a note of panic in her voice.
"I wasn't finished," he chided gently, "I was going to say that I'm glad you haven't agreed to come here."
"Oh?"
Was he mistaken or did she sound disappointed? "Mmm. It would make things a lot more difficult for me." He let go of her hand but only to move around the table and sit next to her. "Cecilia, there are some thing I need to tell you that are important for me to have you know."
"Beast! We've got a problem!" Kitty cried, phasing into the room. "Oh, um, hi!" She drew up short when she saw not only Cecilia, but how close Beast was sitting to the woman she now suspected might be Mystique.
"What's wrong, Kitty?" Beast fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing the girl's propensity for drama. "And where are the others?"
"Oh, um, me and Kurt ported here. The others are at the Mall looking for Tabby!" Kitty shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She did not want to speak too much in front of the stranger. "Could we, like, talk in private?"
"Just talk, Kitty. Doctor Reyes can hear anything you have to say."
"Doctor Reyes. Right."
The woman smiled in a friendly manner, putting on her best calming voice, and said, "Hi. We met last night...Kitty Pryde, right?"
"Mmmhmm..." Kitty frowned. Damn it! How do I get rid of her? Fuck. If she's Mystique, though, she already knows...Damn it! _
Kurt appeared in a blink, fresh from his own room and slightly damp from splashing cold water on his face and neck. Being close to Kitty, even for a few moments while porting, was unnerving him. "You tell him yet? Nein?" Kurt sighed. He could tell Beast was irritated. "Tabby disappeared from the mall, right in front of Jean!" He elbowed Kitty sharply, making her yelp. "Tell him!"
Reluctantly, Kitty told Beast what had happened, eyeing Cecilia with apprehension the whole time. Beast nodded and made "hmmm"ing noises as Kitty finished. "Right, right...And we're sure she didn't just wander off?"
Kitty found her voice again, sidestepping another nudge from Kurt. "Positive! Jean couldn't pick her up anywhere! They're combing the mall and the area around it for signs of her..."
Cecilia quirked a brow. "Is this Jean a telepath?"
"Ja," Kurt supplied, not feeling the threat from Cecilia that Kitty did. "She's mostly telekinetic, though."
"Fascinating," the woman said in a tone the teenagers were used to hearing from Beast. "Well, Hank, I say we go help look for her!"
Beast cleared his throat softly and, Kurt was certain, blushed under his fur. "Um, I'm af I'm I'm not quite...known...around these parts. I can do what I can from here."
Kitty flapped her hands inside the too-big jacket, trying to get his attention. "OR," she said, "you could wear that coat and hat like you did when you went to pick Amara up at the hospital that time...you know, cover yourself and all..."
Beast frowned. "Possible."
Cecilia laidand and on his arm and said gently, "You can drive. I know how much these kids mean to you and I want to help. You're my friend, Hank, and if they're important to you, they're important to me."
Kitty blinked. This was not what she expected. Beast smiled a little and nodded. "I'll get my coat. Kitty, you and Kurt stay here in case she comes back and answer the phones. I expect you to conduct yourselves in a mature manner. And by mature, I don't mean R-rated or higher..."

Kurt thought they were doing a fairly good job of remaining sex-neutral as they waited in the silent mansion. Todd had literally hopped by on his way out the door with Lance about ten minutes after Beast and Cecilia left and that was the last sound they had heard other than their own voices. Kitty say on one end of the couch, he on the other, afternoon talk shows playing on the television before them. She was picking mindlessly at the fringe on a throw pillow, glassy eyed, not paying attention to the telly or him. "Katzchen?" he asked softly, startling her anyway.
"Huh? I mean...yes?" She looked a little embarrassed about being surprised.
"I was just seeing if you wanted to start that whole getting-to-know-each-other thing early...I mean, since we're waiting and have nothing else to do..." He shrugged, realizing belatedly that his statement could be taken as an insult.
She tilted her head to one sighed and sighed. "Okay...me worrying isn't going to get Tabby back sooner, is it?"
"Trust me...I know Tabby. She's fine. Wherever she is, she's not giving us a single thought. She's waltz in here after dinner and wonder what everyone is so upset about!"
"If you say so..." Kitty screwed her mouth into a semblance of a smile and shifted to face him, tucking her legs underneath her so that she was resting on her knees on the cushion. "Okay. Getting to know you, part one. Easy stuff. What's my favorite song?"
"You didn't tell me there'd be a quiz!" he groaned, covering his face with a pillow in mock-horror.
"Well, how else are we going to know what we need to know unless we find out what we don't know first?"
"Uh...okay." He shook his head to clear the logjam of Kitty-speak and turned his mind to her question. "Okay. Which kind of song? Love song, dance song..."
Kitty straightened in surprise. "Well, if you're going to be specific about it...Love song, I suppose."
Kurt nodded. "You tell people it's _Kiss from a Rose, _ but it's really _Livin' on a Prayer. _" He smiled smugly when she made a strangled noise of denial. "Don't lie to me, Schatz, I know _everything _ about you."
"Do not!" Kitty sniffed. "And _Livin' on a Prayer _is a romantic song, no matter what anyone says!"
"No argument here...Go ahead. Ask me anything. I am an expert on Kitty Pryde."
"First off...if I didn't love you sch, ch, I'd be getting a restraining order on you about now, Mister Stalker Man. Second, I'll bet I can stump you. Let me think..." Kitty bit her lip, debating over which embarrassing detail of her life to ask Kurt about, before lighting on the most horribly personal thing she could think of. "When did I get my first period?"
Kurt gulped. "Katzchen! That's personal! I don't want to talk about your lady times!"
"You said you knew everything, Fuzzy. So tell me...when was it?" She was embarrassed herself but tried valiantly not to show it.
"Kitty! You're killing me!" Kurt still did not look directly at her but notice wiome ome alarm his tail seemed to have a mind of it's own. He was sitting on the back of the couch, less than a foot from Kitty now, not sure how he got there. His tail was tapping the cushioned back of the couch, every other flip brushing against Kitty's knee. Her _bare _ knee, he noted sharply. Her bare, nice-to-touch knee that he knew was ticklon ton the back and if he bit her just slightly there, would make her moan loudly.
"C'mon, Kurt. You said you could do it, so do it!" Kitty leaned forward, tugging on his errant tail gently, enough to send a jolt of sensation through his body, nowhere near pain but painful nonetheless.
"Fine," he sighed, "though I don't know how this quickly went from getting to know you to embarrass Kurt..." He pouted a little and stifled a yelp as Kitty sighed and moved to sit next to himthe the back of the couch, her precarious balance offset by Kurt's unconscious movement, placing his hand on her back to steady her. "It was the first day of fifth grade and you were in homeroom. You stood up to introduce yourself to the class and Lance, who sat behind you then, announced to everyone that you had red paint on your butt."
"Oh, my God..." Kitty hid her face in her hands. "I didn't think I had told you that!"
"I'm wounded!" he cried, clutching his hands over his heart. "You don't remember every single conversation we've ever had in minute detail! I may faint!"
"To use my limited German... Klappe!" She stuck her tongue out at him and, with a high noise of disdain, slid to sit on the cushions.
"Oh, come on, Kitty," Kurt laughed, getting caught up in the playful mood, able to ignore the effect she has having on him, if only for a moment, "your turn. What's my favorite love song then?"
"Ha! You think I don't know this but I know this! You have two-before we started going out, for some reason, it was _Uptown Girl _, which always surprised me because you're such a huge Beatles freak, but now you like _At Last _, that old song." She giggled. "You always hum that when we're alone, you know that?"
"Er...no..." Kurt cleared his throat. "Now I'm embarrassed."
"Don't be," she said, leaning to bump his shoulder with hers. "I think it's cute." Kurt was steadfastedly looking at his feet so Kitty reached over and turned his face towards hers by virtue of his chin. "You know, you shouldn't get embarrassed aboutngs ngs like that with me. I'm not like Tabby or Amanda. I won't tease you about it or say you're old fashioned..."
"You do say that sometimes, Schatz," he breathed, noticing how close they were. His heart sped up a few paces and his twisted his hands into the fabric of his t shirt along the hem. "I don't mind, though, because it's true."
"Not in a bad way, though," she amended. "I like it."
Kurt swallowed hard. "I'm glad." Unwillingly, he leaned closer, so close that he could feel the warmth of her skin and smell the faint strawberry scent of her shampoo.
"Kurt," she breathed, swaying closer, a hair's breadth from their lips brushing.
"You fucking bastard!" screamed Rogue from the foyer. The teenagers jumped apart guiltily, Kurt wondering what he had done that upset his half sister so badly, before they realized that she was not even aware of their presence. Todd stormed into view preceded by the sound of the front door slamming. "How dare you?" Rogue continued, following him.
Todd stopped at the foot of the stairs, unaware of their audience. He looked more angry than anyone remembered seeing him, more angry than the time Lance had killed his pet flies on alleged accident, more angry than when Amara had set fire to his box of adult videos. "How dare...Damn it, Rogue!" he exploded, his disuse of her real name indicative of how mad he was. "How the Hell should I be acting? I find out that you're off flashing Pietro in the woods and thinking you're in love with him days before we get together? Of course I'm gonna be a little fucking pissed!"
"I'm not your property, Todd!" she snarled. "And we weren't even together! You can't get mad at me for something I did before you came along!"
Todd closed his eyes and forced his breathing to slow from an angry pant to deep, pseudo calm inhalations. "I get a call from Pietro this morning, you know that? Me and Lance, he calls here. Tells us we need to come meet him at the mall or something's gonna happen to ya. Lance didn't want to go, he thought it was Pietro fucking around. We get up there and you're traipsing around like it's no biggie and when you _finally _ tell us what's going on, you blow me off!"
"I didn't blow you off! All I said was that we had that area covered and to come back here until we figure out what to do!"
Kurt felt moved to speak up. "To be fair...that wasn't a blow off. That's being part of a team."
Impressively, neither of the arguing mutants seemed surprised to find themselves watched. "Shut up!" they both snapped.
"Hey! Leave Kurt alone!" Kitty scooted off the couch and moved to the doorway, glaring at her friends. "He was just pointing out the obvious. Todd, I know you did things differently with the Brotherhood, but here, we have to make concessions sometimes."
Rogue seemed calmer as she addressed Todd. "I know you're mad about what happened between me and Pietro before, but damn it, you should know that meant nothing. At least not like what we have means to me." She reached out and pushed her finger against a spot on his chest, where she knew her name was emblazoned somewhat crookedly, opedoped it meant enough to you that you wouldn't doubt me."
Todd closed his eyes tightly and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm a dumbass."
"No argument here," Kurt muttered.
"Baby, hush," Kitty murmured.
Jean interrupted them all. _*Guys, we think we've found where Tabby disappeared to...Meet us at the mall again. Get Jubilee and Remy. Leave Belladonna with St John, Bobby and Evan. _ *
Kitty frowned. "Think that's a good idea?" she said aloud, knowing Jean could hear her even as they moved to do as they were told.
* _ Belladonna will only get in the way. We don't trust here there alone so that's our only option. Hurry...we don't want to waste time! _*
1 I'm notng tng to go into detail about how Cecilia Reyes discovered her mutation, but it's not going to be exactly the same as comicverse. Raise your hand if you're surprised.