Forever

FOREVER—CHAPTER 23 (NC-17)

 

 

A/N Thanks beaucoups to Foxfeather for being groovy and to
InterNutter for use of her springboard!
And to everyone who reviewed…*blush* Awwww, shucks….’tweren’t
nuttin….(toes ground bashfully)

 

 

 

Amara did
not really have a migraine. She just
could not stand the idea of sitting across from Kitty at breakfast, knowing
that the other girl knew.
Waiting until everyone had gone downstairs for one reason or another,
Amara slid into her jeans and shirt, carrying her shoes in her hand to remain
as quiet as possible, she slipped down stairs and out the laundry room door,
dashing across the dew-damp lawn on slightly swollen feet. The boarding house isn’t too far…I think
I can make it in under an hour…It was the first morning that she had not
thrown up at the mere suggestion of food and Amara seized the chance. Damn Lance for wanting to wait until
tonight. I’ll wake his ass up if I have
to. Knocked up. Shit. How did this happen? Hell, I know how it happened… Amara put on her shoes, for once not
bothering to lace them up, and set out across Bayville, cutting through lawns
and across parking lots until she reached the Brotherhood’s dwelling place. Was the walkway always this long? The gray strip seemed a mile long from where
Amara stood near the dilapidated mailbox, leading up to a rather battered front
door. The faint sound of a male voice
yelling at someone could be heard from the depths of the house and Amara
thought it might be Pietro from the cadence of the tone. She took a deep, shaking breath and steeled
herself for her march on Lance Alvers when the object of her current obsession
rounded the corner of the house, examining some auto part narrowly as he
sauntered, shirtless, to the porch. In
the early morning light, Lance looked unconcerned, less pained than how Amara
usually saw him. He sat on the first
step leading to the wooden porch and she noted a cigarette hung from his lower
lip as if he had forgotten he had been smoking it. His hands bore traces of oil and there was a smudge on his cheek
and chest. Oh. Me likes.
Sinking for a mere moment into a pleasant haze of admiring lust,
Amara almost let herself be deluded into think that she could proposition Lance
first, break the news to him later.
Tabitha slamming the front door of the boardinghouse open with a
resounding clatter snapped Amara back to reality. The blonde bounced on her toes for a moment and looked over
Lance’s shoulder. “The fuck is that?”

“Air intake
regulator.” He switched sides with the
cigarette, not bothering to look up at Tabitha.

“Why?”

“Because I
said so. You want something or just
pissing me off for no good reason?”

Tabitha made
a moue of annoyance before answering.
“Made breakfast. Found some
mystery meat that wasn’t molded or sentient so I cooked it and Todd found
something resembling oatmeal so we’re having it. Want us to save you some?”


“Er….no.” Lance finally looked at her with something
akin to nausea. “You’re not really
going to eat it, are you?”

“Hungry. No man this week so I can’t bum off of
anyone.” Lance nodded in agreement;
apparently, that was the way of things around the Brotherhood. If you couldn’t mooch, you did without. “So in or out?”

“Out. Gotta figure out what’s up with the
car.” Lance turned his attention back
to the mystery of auto parts and Tabitha shrugged, standing. Amara knew she had been caught out by the
smirk that suddenly appeared on Boom Boom’s face.

“Hello, Amara.” Her name sounded like a curn thn the blonde
girl’s lips. Lance’s jaw dropped and
his cigarette dangled from his lip by some cle cle of physics. “A little early for a fuck, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t
know,” Amara snarled, “why don’t you tell me?”
The insult was implied—slut!—and Tabitha rose to the bait.

“Ooooh. Little Princess is angry. Isn’t that cute, Lance?” She moved off the porch, leaving an agog
Lance staring after her. Amara stood
her ground, arms crossed and eyes hardened.
Tabitha stopped scant feet from Amara and eyed her assessingly. “So tell me, girly, what’re you slumming
around at seven thirty in the a of m for?”


Lance found
his voice. “Down, girl. Go eat your mystery meat…” He put the auto part down and stood but made
no other move towards the girls.

Amara noticed with her back brain
that his jeans were just a little too big, sagging on his hipbones to reveal a
dark line of hair from his navel downward.
She fought this new surge of hormones and glared at Tabitha. Unfortunately, Boom Boom had noticed her
gaze and her smile broadened. “Oooooh,
Lance. Methinks our little Amara has
the hots for you.”

Lance’s eyes widened, somewhat
heartened that Amara’s desire for him had been noticed by another. If Tabby
notices it, then maybe Princess does feel something for me. Or maybe she’s just horny…Eh. Either way and it’ll be a good morning. There was a slight tightening in his chest
that told him differently, though, that he would much rather it be more than
simple lust on her part. “Tabby, let it
go.”

“Jealous,
Boom Boom?” Amara dimly remembered that
Lance and Tabitha had slept together on occasion and bit back the green eyed
monster that briefly stirred in her belly.
“Miss your steady fuck?”
Tabitha took an involuntary step backwards and Amara knew she had hit
home.

“Bitch!” Tabitha glanced over at Lance and regained
her position closer to Amara. “I think
there’s something more to this little visit than a simple booty call. Something you want to say, Amara?” Tabitha had found her confidence again and
was quick to note that Amara seemed nervous, an unusual trait for the Nova
Roman. Lance seemed to notice it to,
suddenly moving to join Tabitha in front of Amara.

Despite the surprising comfort
Amara felt being close to Lance, her hackles were already up and she was in
defensive mode. Will this harm the
baby? Will firing up? “Back
off. Now.”

Tabitha
narrowed her eyes in suspicion, a sneaking thought becoming quite prominent in
her mind. Quick as lightening, Tabitha
balled her fist and made to strike low, at Amara’s pelvic girdle[1]. Amara danced backwards, one arm dropping to
cover the target and the other coming up, fully aflame and swinging towards
Tabitha. Lance yelped in surprise and
ducked, fully expecting to be hit one way or another. “I knew it! You’re
knocked up!” Tabitha crowed from where
she had fallen on the ground, trying to dodge Amara’s arm.

Lance
felt his heart contract then explode, draining the blood from his head. “Wha?”
Amara’s wide eyes told him everything he needed to know but he asked
anyway. “Is it true?”

“Of
course it is, Lance. Just look at
her!” Tabitha stood, brushing dirt from
her seat. “I looked the same way when
you knocked me up!”

“What?” Amara’s voice came out as a rough whisper.

‘Oh,
yeah. His swimmers got through a condom
and jelly.” Lance was pale
beneath his tan, not willing to meet Amara’s eyes. “Took care of it fast, though.
Two hundred bucks and a doctor who doesn’t check i.d., and here we sit.[2]” Seeing the stricken look on Amara’s face,
Tabitha did not even bother to hide her glee.
“Oh, didn’t you know about that?
Didn’t Lance tell you?”

Amara
felt as if her world was ending for the second time in as many days. Unwillingly, she looked at Lance. “I didn’t know until after she did it,
Amara. She didn’t tell me until…until
much later.”

“Until
he was looking for the two hundred bucks we’d stashed for food and bills.” Tabitha looked momentarily disturbed but
visibly shook it off, piercing Amara with her eyes again. “So if you’ve come looking for money to get
rid of the problem, fuck off. We’re
broke.”

Oh,
Lance. Not even you deserved to hear it
this way. “Tabitha, go away.”

“What?” She seemed honestly surprised that Amara had
not attacked her again.

“Go
away. This is none of your
affair.” Amara still had not taken her
eyes off of Lance.

Just
once in my life I want something good and nice and wonderful and I want it to
be someone who knows pain like I do. Why
can’t anything go right? Lance
snarled at Tabitha. “You heard
her. Go!”

“Whipped
already, Lance?” Tabitha sneered,
moving even closer to Amara. “Look
here, Amara, I don’t know what you were hoping for when you let him get you
knocked up, but it ain’t happening.
Lance loves Kitty and not you.
You’re less than nothing to him.”


“You
know,” and idea dawned on Amara, “I think you’re in love with him.”

“Fuck
you!” Tabitha flew at Amara, shoving
Lance roughly aside. Amara growled and
leapt to meet her, turning her body so that her arm and hip bore the brunt of
contact. The girls grappled on the bare
lawn, Amara using her speed advantage to catch Tabitha off guard and roll her
onto her back. Lance regained his
footing and made a grab for Amara only to have two sets of teeth bared at
him. Tabitha flipped Amara off and
leapt to her feet. “Stand up, whore!”

“Burn,
bitch!” Amara burst into flames,
reddening Tabitha’s face with her heat.


“AMARA!” Lance was torn about who to help, not sure who
was actually in the most danger.
Tabitha yowled and leapt away, sending several blasts Amara’s way. The Nova Roman fell back with a hoarse
shout, flames snapping out as she was rolling away from the timed
detonations. Lance made the decision
and dashed towards Amara ono hao have Tabitha blast him back. As soon as his hands hit the ground, Lance
almost unknowingly set his powers into motion.
The ground rumbled beneath them, sending Tabitha sprawling and Amara,
who had risen to her hands and knees, back onto her stomach. Tabitha sent another charge Lance’s way,
distracting him enough to halt the surge of earth. Amara used the spare moment to rise to her feet again and clutching
her stomach; she felt suddenly ill but was damned if she let Tabitha see her
vomit. Lance spit out a mouthful of
dusty yard and launched himself from his knees at Tabitha’s legs, taking the
girl down.

“Let
me go!” She writhed in his grasp,
landing a kick to his groin. Doubling
in pain, Lance released the hellion and rolled into a ball, unable to stop the
whimper that rose in his throat.
Tabitha and Amara circled each other warily, looking for all the world
like two caged lionesses about to fight to the death. They had moved during the fight to the close proximity of the
stairs and porch and Tabitha noted this with some perverse happiness. Toad stumbled out onto the porch, drawn by
the sounds of the fight and the tremors that Lance had produced. “Move it, Tolensky!” Amara made a last lunge for Amara and seized
the girl by the waist. Amara,
momentarily lost in a wave of nausea, was caught off guard as Tabitha grabbed
her, lifting her off of her feet just enough to throw her, landing the girl
hard against the railing of the porch.
A sickening thud accompanied the impact and Amara fell to the ground,
her head bouncing off the cement steps.
Tabitha growled again and landed several kicks to the prone girl’s chest
and stomach.

“Toad!
Stop her!” Lance was struggling to his
feet somewhat shakily but his tone commanded obedience. Toad swallowed his mouthful of mystery meat
and flicked his tongue out, pinning Tabitha’s arms to her sides and throwing
her off balance. She was stunned into stillness, gaping at Toad’s assault.

Amara moaned and twitched before
suddenly jerking upright and clutching her stomach. “Oh, gods!” She threw up
in the dead begonias, blood trickling from her nose and mouth, chest wheezing
with the effort.

“Amara,
talk to me!” Lance slid onto his knees
next to her, blocking her effectively from any further attack by Tabitha. “Someone go call 911—I think she’s bleeding
internally!” Sure enough, blood
trickled from Amara’s mouth and Lance sent a significant glance towards
Tabitha’s steel-toed boots, currently edging from his line of vision. “Tabitha, don’t you run. You know I’ll find you.” Amara moaned and collapsed back to the
ground, her hands clutching convulsively at her stomach. “Talk to me! Toad! Damn it, go call
911!”

“The
phone’s cut off, yo.” Toad seemed
actually concerned, peering closer at the prone girl.

“Then
go next door or get fuckin’ Pietro to run down the street. Damn it, move!” Toad disappeared into the house and he could
be heard bellowing for Pietro. “Tabby,
you fucked up big time. No matter what
happens, you’re mine.”

“No,”
came a weak voice from the ground, “she’s mine.” Amara tried to ignite but could only manage
a faint glow, her skin rippling with orange fire, the color of the Magma for
which she was named.

“Just
stay still, baby.” Baby? Fuck it—won’won’t remember! Amara’s eyes flew open and she tried to form
words, emitting only a faint, strangled gasp.
“Can you breathe? What is it?”

“Blood…bleeding!” One hand moved to press against her crotch
and she lifted it to eye level, blood clearly visible on the palm. Lance’s eyes moved automatically, following
her action, and he saw the spreading stain on Amara’s jeans.

“Oh,
fuck me!” Lance felt ill himself as it
became obvious what was happening.
“Tabby, hotwire Mystique’s car.”

“Dude,
you’re took it apart!”

“Not
mine, idiot! The one in the
garage…” Tabitha walked backwards a few
paces before turning to run towards the garage, for once not fighting an order. “Amara, can you hear me? Does your chest hurt?” Some part of Lance’s mind said not to move her
if her chest hurt but he could not really remember why, so panic-fogged were
his thought processes. Amara shook her
head slowly, her eyes still pressed shut.
“Does your back? Can you feel
your fingers and toes?”

“Just…hurt.” She sounded weaker now and Lance became very
frightened as she began babbling softly in a language he did not
understand. She opened her eyes and
called for someone and Lance assumed it was her father, judging by the
little-girl tone she had suddenly adopted.
A car roared to life behind the house and Lance scooped up the girl,
striding to meet Tabitha as she rolled out of the garage. The blonde leapt from
the driver’s seat and opened the back door of the car, helping Lance lay Amara
flat. “You drive. I’m riding with her.” He rested Amara’s head on his lap and let
his brain whirl in confused emotion and terror as Tabitha peeled out of the
driveway and barreled towards Bayville General Hospital.

 

Kurt sighed in contentment,
watching the mini-Kitty and mini-Astrid on the video screen. They were still talking in the rec room and
he found that, by aiming the f cam camera just so, he could see them on
the sofa. The two most wonderful
women in the world and they’re mine…Okay, so they’re not mine in the same way,
but still…Kurt could not stop the grin of pure happiness that spread across
his face. Ja, this is going to suck
before it gets better, but Kitty loves me, she hasn’t run screaming into the
night Mam Mama is here. And she scared
Logan. How much better can this week
go? Kurt ignored the light rap on
the door, checking the video camera for the hallway to see that Remy stood
there, eying him back through the lens.

“C’mon,
homme. I know you in there. Lemme in.
Gotta use sumthin’ in dere.”

Kurt
growled softly and rolled his chair over to the door. “What?”

“Gotta
use the…um…don’t wanna say. Les jus say
it be top secret.”

“Ja,
ja. And I’m King of All Britain.”[3] Kurt opened the door anyway, motioning for
Remy to close it when he entered. “What
do you need to use?”

“The
voice recognition equipment. Me and
Jubes and Jamie wanna know who be on dat tape.” Remy located the voice recognition machinery and sat himself
before it, inserting the tape and fiddling with buttons and knobs.

‘Remy! Be careful!
It’s my hide if anything is messed up!”
Kurt winced inwardly as Remy gave one knob a violent turn. “Here, let me help…” Kurt started the program running and gently
shoved Remy aside, setting the machine to run the tape against the stored
voices on the computer. “It’ll be a few
minutes.” Remy nodded sagely, as if he
knew exactly what was going on. “So,
tell me,” Kurt leaned back in his chair, “what’s the deal with you and
Jubilee?”

“Ah.
Well, dat be a delicate matter, mon ami.”
Remy passed a hand over a stubble-darkened jaw. “We be…talkin’.”

“Ah,
so that’s what kids call it these days.”

“Shaddup,
you!” Remy laughed good naturedly and
shook his head. “P’tite have some
strong feelin’ for dis Cajun mais he be a little scared…”

“What
about Rogue?”

Remy
shook his head again, making a “forget it” gesture. “She not part of dis conversation. No disrespect for her, ya know, but she not be de one pour moi.”
“How’re you so
sure?” Kurt was interested now. Remy smiled, tapping his chest in the
general area of his heart. “Ah.” Kurt knew well enough what Remy meant. He just knew. The machine clicked and beeped. “Finished…”
Remy leaned over Kurt’s shoulder as he read off the data. “Miststueck!”[4] “Quoi?” Remy nudged him aside and his eyes widened in shock. “I be back.
I gonna go kill Amara.”

“After
me, mein Freund.” A small motion in the
video monitor to his left caught Kurt’s attention.s? “s? “You go on ahead…I’ll catch up.” Remy nodded but remained fixated by the
scene on the video monitor. A light-haired
girl had stumbled into Kitty’s arms in the foyer, her voice carrying across the
security system. Kurt strained to hear
what they were saying, turnup tup the volume in time to be nearly deafened by
the loud knocking that bed ted through the speakers. His mother moved to open the door and the two watchers in the
security room leaned forward as if they were watching a horror movie. Four people shoved their way in, two of
which Kurt recognized with a sickening certainty. “Remy, we’re going to have some issues…”

 

A/N I know, I know—A lot of
Lance/Amara and little Kurt/Kitty or anyone else. Setting up the climax, my readers…setting up the climax… Bear with me…

TBC

 

 

 

 

 





[1] Anthro
moment. Basically your lower stomach or
where a woman’s uterus would be.

[2] I am not
endorsing or protesting abortion. It’s
a story. If you have issues with it,
remember—IT IS FICTION! THESE PEOPLE
AREN”T REAL!

[3] Random
homage to Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail

[4] Bitch!
(thanks Foxy!)