Carne Vale

CARNE VALE CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply


A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, Tim has requested that I not send any more pics like the cowboy hat one...hee hee hee...little does he know I am a font of such things. ;) First the choir, now this...lol. InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink make me weak in the knees with gratitude because they archive! Readers/Reviewers: Big, lickity kisses for all of you. Unless you have a cold sore or something, then you get a firm handshake. And the Killer Kitties (tm) have stolen my soap and seem to be whittling little guns from it. Weird.

"You know, technically, this is kidnapping," Tabby pointed out with a bored mien.
"Yeah...but who cares?" Rogue asked , voice equally as flat as Tabby's. They peered into the window set in the door of the isolation room, Pietro's prone form clearly visible. He was twitching with the need to run, to burn off his pent up energy after only one day in confinement and Rogue felt an unexpected stab of pity for him. "Should we see if Beast will let him on the treadmill he uses for the stress tests?"
"No!" Tabby snapped, recoiling from the door as if she were burned. "Don't you let him out of there!"
"Tabby, no matter how much we want him dead, we don't _actually _ want him dead...We need to make sure we're not going to get in a Hell of a lot more trouble than we're already in..."
Tabby gritted her teeth. "I swear to God above, Rogue, if you let him out, I will shove charges up your ass!"
"Now, now," Rogue drawled in her sweetest Southern belle voice, "think of the baby..." She could tell by the grimace and growl that came from Tabby that she had hit home. Inspired, Rogue said, "We'll wait till Wanda comes back today and let her bind him so he can run around, but can't get away...Like a leash or something..."
Tabby growled. "I don't care what you do...just don't let me be around when it happens!" She turned and stomped away, one hand pressed to her abdomen in an unconscious gesture of protection.
Rogue sighed and peered back in at Pietro, his sleep fitful, his legs twitching in barely restrained desire to run. SighiRoguRogue said softly, "I'm almost sorry about this." Pressing her fingertips to the window, she said, "When did you go crazy?"
"Sometime around seventh grade, nearest we can figure," Todd said from the doorway. Rogue did not turn as he expected but looked at him through the faint reflection in the glass. "At least he was nuts when I met him..."
"He seemed so normal at school...at least as normal as mutants can be." She laughed softly. "I don't think even the norms are normal, really."
Todd approached her hesitantly. "Tabby said you wanted to call Wanda..."
"About that," Rogue said, an edge coming into her voice, "I'm not mad because you loved her. I'm mad because you had the balls to get mad at me for having whatever it was I had with Pietro."
"I know..." he sighed, leaning against her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "Sorry."
Rogue fought a smile. "Yeah, well...Don't let it happen again."
"I don't think I have any other unrequited crushes in Bayville...a few in Brooklyn maybe and Neve Campbell still hasn't written back..." he shrugged, greatly enjoying the feel of her giggling against him. "So why'd you ignore me at the movies?"
"I was annoyed..." It was her turn to shrug. "I think I'm over it now... So..." She turned in his arms, turning her back on Pietro. She licked her thumb and pressed it against his shirt. "Want to go upstairs and get out of those wet clothes?"1
Todd looked at her in open-mouthed surprise for a long moment, then burst out laughing. "You are one weird chick, babycakes."
"Yeah, but I'm cute so I can get away with it!" she said, pulling away from him and sauntering towards the door with a rolling gait.
Todd shook his head to clear the lustful haze that covered his eyes and said, "Cute don't begin to cover it..." Rogue turned and looked over her shoulder at him and grinned, seeing his intent before he knew it. With a giggle, she burst into a run and dashed out of the infirmary, sprinting pell-mell down the hall towards the elevator. Todd loped after her, leaping every few steps to stay close but keep distance, enjoying the silly game. She hit the button to the elevator but bolted for the stairs, the door clanging shut behind her before Todd could make it through. She paused long enough for him to get through the door, then resumed her dash up the stairs, bursting into the hall on the main floor and skidding on the runner. "Ooops!" she cried out, hitting the floor with a thud. Todd slid to a halt behind her and she looked back. "I'm okay!"
"You sure?" he asked, panting slightly. She leapt to her feet and tagged him on the shoulder. "Gotcha last..." She ran away again, swinging into the foyer with a hitch to her breath as she slammed into the banister, forcing herself to stop when she saw who was in the hall. "Oh!"
Todd said loudly, "If I catch you, does that mean I get to be on to....oh!" He fell out of his leap and landed in a tangle of limbs on the floor. "Hi, Logan. Storm."
"What the Hell is going on here?" the older man asked, holding Tabby firmly by the arm. "What's she still doing here? And what is this crap about Pietro?"
Storms' face was a study in calm. "Logan, let her go. We've been home ten minutes and already you're so tense I can see the pulse in your neck..."
Logan reluctantly let go of Tabby's arm. "I'm going to my room and unpack. When I come down, I want to know what the Hell's been going on since we've been gone." He took two steps and paused. "Where's Half-Pint?"
"Kitty's in her room," Rogue said, slightly red in the face from being caught acting silly. "She's sulking."
"Why?" Storm asked with a note of concern in her voice. "Another school problem?"
"No..." Todd said, standing with little difficulty, "She and Kurt aren't...expressing themselves physically, ya know, and she kinda kissed him in the movies."
Logan growled softly. "I don't know if I should be happy or not..." He sighed. "We'll be down in two hours. Be ready to talk. Get the others," he added as an afterthought.
Storm rolled her eyes. "He hates flying. He sets off metal detectors everywhere..." She moved her shoulders in an effort to release growing tension. "I ans answers myself, but I can wait," she smiled gently. "Don't worry about Logan. I'll get him to calm down." She drifted up the stairs, leaving Rogue and Todd vaguely ill at the thought about how she would calm down their mentor.

Kitty cringed when she heargan gan enter his room down the hall. She was glad he was home and wanted to go see him, but she knew how she looked and she knew that Logan would let his heart override his logic should she approach him the wrong way. Sighing painfully, she picked up the Tylenol from her nightstand and shook out two pills, casting about for her glass of water and frowning as she realized it was still in the kitchen. _Damned gag reflex...last thing I need is to throw up all over the place. That'll be really attractive. Maybe I can figure out what to say to Kurt if I walk around a bit, stop moping... _ She distractedly phased through the door and walked, sullen and ghost-like down the hall. Kurt's door drew her eye unwillingly and she found herself standing before it, pills in her hand and shifting her weight from side to side uncertainly. She did not have long to consider her position as Kurt opened the door before she could move. "Oh!" she yelped, the pills flying from her hand as she jumped back, wincing at the jarring feeling in her skull.
"Liebes!" he practically shouted, surprised himself. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here..." she said, proud that she sounded so calm. _I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...It's my fault you're going to Catholic Hell! _
"I meant what're you doing outside my door?" He took a step towards her and reached out briefly, snatching his hand back before he could touch her again.
Kitty took a deep breath. _May as well... _"I'm sorry I made you break your promise."
"Was? I kissed you, not the other way around..." He took another step and frowned. "You're not apologizing for kissing me, are you?"
"No...just for making you ruin your penance or whatever you want to call it..." She took a step back and instantly felt guilty.
He shook his head. "Stop. It's my own doing. I didn't have self control...you make it verdammt hard to keep a rein on my feelings, Katzchen." He laughed a bit ruefully and closed his eyes. "I need to go to Confession."
"Why? You didn't do anything wrong...well, not like a sin or anything," she frowned.
"Ja...I lusted in my heart2 for you. Lust is a sin..." He trailed the fingers of one hand across the palm of the other in a gesture meant to distract his own attention from his thoughts. "I want you all the time, Kitty. I shouldn't want you so much..."
"Why not?" she asked softly, spellbound by his serious demeanor.
"I love you so much...It's not wrong to desire the one you love, but lust...it's profane..."
"How?" she demanded. "Lust is wanting...Desire is wanting. Desire just gets you more points at Scrabble."
Kurt smirked briefly. "Schatz, when I say lust, I mean I think about you all the time, and it isn't always...nice thoughts."
"Um?"
Kurt was sure he was going to port himself in front of a truck if she pressed him for more answers. "I want to do all sorts of things with you...to you...things I know aren't proper to do with a woman like you..."
Kitty had to choke back a sudden laugh. Closing her eyes to school her thoughts, she opened them to look directly at him and said softly, "Kurt, if we love each other, _nothing _ is improper. Hear me? _Nothing! _ And as soon as Lent is over, I'll prove it to you." His eyes flew open at this and she smiled slowly, her lips curving like the Cheshire Cat. "And if what you're saying is true...I need to find out if there's a Jewish equivalent to Confession."
"Was?" he said, somewhat choked.
Licking her lips in a manner she was not fully aware was seductive, Kitty said, "Lately, all I can think about is wanting you and needing you and I feel so bad that I'm tempted to make you break your vow on an hourly basis..." That said, she stepped back further, out of touching range. "And I'm sorry I told you that, because I know that it will make things harder...er, more difficult for you. It's not even a week your Lent and I'm already making this tough on you..."
"I'm glad to see Catholic guilt is universal," Kurt sighed.
Kitty rolled her eyes. "You may have it, but Jews originated it.3: Sighing, she pressed her fingers over her eyes and said, "I've got to find those Tylenol...my head is killing me."
"Logan is home," Kurt said suddenly, wishing to think of anything other than Kitty wanting him as much as he wanted her.
"I know...I'm kind of avoiding him right now," she said, gesturing to her bruises. "Kurt, I really mean it...I'm sorry. And if it'll make things easier," she said, drawing a deep breath before she spilled the words, "I'll stay away from you until Easter. If we're not close to each other, you won't be tempted."
"Nein!" He felt a surge of panic, surprising himself with the vehemence of his feelings and voice. His hand shot out and he grabbed her wrist, Kitty realizing belatedly that she was not quite far enough away. "As difficult as this is with you near, I think I'd nearly die if you stayed away from me. Knowing how close you were, not being able to even touch you on accident...I'm living for these touches," he admitted.
"Isn't that cheating?" she breathed, her heart racing.
"I...I don't know!" he cried, letting go of her arm and twisting his hands into his shirt. "I have to go see Father Dominic."
"Okay," she said a bit sadly. "Go see him." She looked up at the ceiling, thinking of something to say that would not make her think of Kurt's hand on her arm, moving across her belly and down to her hip... "It's Sabbath. I need to get ready for tonight. I don't think I can cook dinner, though..."
Kurt said quickly, "Let me...Just because I gave up sex doesn't mean we can't still...What's the word?"
"Show our love for each other?" she offered. He nodded and repeated her words in a murmur. Kitty smiled a little and said, "Okay. That'd be great of you...And I'll do something nice for you...You pick and I'll do it!"
Kurt nodded again. "Ja...I'll....I'll think of something I'd like you to do..."
Kitty smiled more broadly and turned to continue to the kitchen, her Tylenol still littering the floor. Kurt watched her go and slumped down to join them. _I can think of about twenty things I'd like her to do right now and I think over half of them are illegal in this state... _
1 Really heard that once. *snort *
2 Jimmy Carter, anyone?
3 No offense to the Jewish readers...My mom actually said this to my dad the other day. Her Bubie is spinning in her grave. ;)