Valentine's Day

Kurt sat in the darkness of his room. Earlier he had politely declined everyone’s invitation for him to join in their festivities. He knew Scott and Jean and the other’s meant well, but they didn’t understand. He knew he would just end up feeling awkward and misplaced when things started getting all cuddly and mushy. Also he didn’t want them to see his envious stares.

Opting to stay awake instead of tossing and turning with lonely and uncomfortable dreams, he sat staring at the wall and reveled in the new power he discovered a few weeks ago. This new ability gave him some measure of comfort and also helped to distract his mind from following the paths of all the “what if’s” he had been plagued with lately. It was especially useful this night. He was sitting so still and so silent that, had someone suddenly entered his room, they would have mistaken him for a statute—if they had even noticed him at all, as well as he was blending in with the darkness.

Slowly he began to regulate his breathing, so slowly it seemed he did not even need air. The roaring in his mind ebbed away, and tentatively he “reached” out. At first he heard nothing, then faintly the pounding started, and then he could “feel” the heartbeat of the occupant in the next room. It was even and slow in sleep. He moved to the next room, then the next, and then to the room three floors down. There were two heartbeats there, and he frowned in puzzlement. They were racing quickly and erratically, faster and faster and then suddenly they skipped, then began to slow.

Kurt felt himself blush as he realized what they were doing. That was a little more than he wanted to know about Jubilee and Remy, and he quickly pushed his mind away from the couple and “returned” to his own room. He opened his eyes, then frowned again. His new ability had a strange side effect; his own heart was racing and he was lightly perspiring. Climbing to his feet, he made his way to the window and raised it to let the wind cool his burning flesh.

Sighing, he looked up to the stars. “I bet zhey are never lonely,” he whispered to the night. “So many of zhem, alvays togezher.” Once again he let his power roam over the estate. All the heartbeats he felt were slow and relaxed in sleep, except for the few rooms where dreams reigned and where a few more couples were spending the holiday together. Shaking his head slightly, he opened his eyes and looked down at all the other windows of the mansion. A few were illuminated by televisions or night lights, but all the others were dark. . .but something was tugging at his new sense. A lone heartbeat stood out somewhere below him. He scanned the windows again, then his eyes fell on the balcony a few stories down. Someone was standing at the ledge gazing out at the sky. There was something familiar about her, but for some reason he couldn’t place her. Her heart beat was slightly erratic, but was slowing and becoming more relaxed as she stood there. He knew the calming effect the night had, but wondered what was bothering her.

Silently he crawled out the window, clinging to the brick with his odd, three-digit hands and feet, and began climbing down closer to her balcony. Something about the figure called to him, why couldn’t he recognize her? Was she a new student? He knew everyone staying in the mansion...didn’t he? She seemed so sad standing there, and suddenly he had the irresistible urge to talk with her, to tell her all about himself and to make her laugh. He paused in his climbing and glanced down at himself. Having a light coat of fur had it’s advantages, but it did nothing when it came to modesty. He always slept in the nude, and the freedom of roaming the grounds at night in nothing but his birthday suit was exhilarating, but it did pose a few problems—like the time Logan had mistaken him for a burglar...he blanched at the memory and quickly pushed the thought of interaction with her away.

He began climbing again and soon found himself directly above the girl’s balcony. He watched her for a long time before she moved to lean over the ledge. Oh, she was so beautiful in that white robe. Her figure was just barely visible through the thin material, and those curls falling just past her shoulders... His fingers itched to touch them, to tangle in them. A sigh reached his ears and he started so suddenly he almost fell.

He gripped the brick under him so tightly his knuckles turned white. The girl’s robe had come loose in the breeze, giving him quite and eyeful. Far from being worried about her exhibition, the girl was relishing in her predicament. Kurt gripped the brick ever tighter when she moaned in pleasure and tilted her head, allowing her neck to be exposed to his heated gaze. His lips burned to brush against her throat and shoulders. He shifted slightly, uncomfortably aware of where all the blood in his body was suddenly rushing, and bit his lip in frustration. Then the girl shook her head and turned to go back inside her room.

That’s when Kurt really did fall.