We Can Explain...

We Can Explain...Chapter Twenty Nine (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta... ready for lesson two? * G* InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly for hosting/archiving! ProPhile: Smut soon! Really! :) Morgan: *glomp * Readers/Reviewers: I'm going to be out of town for a day or so, so...you get a break, lol! And for Purpleaura: We can't stop here! It's bat country!


_Full tummy...nice... _1 Kurt stretched in a light doze, curling his tail around the edge of the bed in somnolent pleasure. He was well aware of Kitty's presence nearby and part of him was a bit disappointhat hat she was in another bed entirely, but he was far too content to really do anything about it. He snuggled down into the relatively thin infirmary pillow, dimly wondering why he was so sleepy, and sighed. For the first time in days, he knew where he was, really knew, and he knew he was safe. The smell of the cold pizza mingled, somewhat at odds, with the smells of the infirmary and Kitty's own scent, Tabby's perfume sharply overlayingall.all. He could hear her moving around in the lab part of the space, humming under her breath and rattling tubes and equipment. Kitty murmured in the next bed and shifted, her soft sigh making him smile. He had a plan for that evening, if they ever got done with the damned story telling, and it involved getting Kitty alone somewhere they would not be interrupted for several hours. Or at least, he amended with an inward grin, a long several minutes. _It's been a while...I have to be honest with myself... _ Any further reverie was interrupted by a soft throat clearing from near his head. He opened one eye, mildly surprised to see Rogue standing there. Frowning just a little, sad to have his fantasy ended before it really began, he sighed. "Abend..."
"Hey," she smiled a bit tightly. "I was wonderin' how y'all were doin'." She gripped the lowered side rail of the bed tightly, her knuckles straining the thin fabric of her gloves. "Didn't mean to wake you up."
He shook his head slightly, pushing himself up on his elbows. "It's okay. I have no idea why I'm so tired... I got plenty of sleep last night. Aren't you missing the Professor's meeting, part two?" He grinned up at her toothily, the implication of boredom inherent in the meeting clear, a knowing joke between the two teenagers.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "I think they'll get over me being late. 'Sides," she added, sitting on the very edge of the bed, "can't get mad at me for checkin' on family." She managed a sweet smile for just a moment beforrt'rt's chuckle broke her. "What? It's true!"
"Sure, sure...if I wasn't down here, what excuse would you have for skipping out? De sliming the bed sheets? There's a sale on Blackest Black lipstick at Goth-a-Rama?" He poked her ribs gently with the tip of his tail and snickered at her affronted expression. "Or better still..."
"Stop while you're ahead," she cut him off dryly. "To be honest, I sort of have an ulterior motive..."
Kurt made a smalow oow of acting disappointed. "Of course! No one ever wants to see me just because!"
"I do, Fuzzy," Kitty murmured sleepily from the other bed, pulling her pillow over her head. "And I'd love you even more than I already do if I saw you after oh, say, another hour or six of sleep..."
Kurt sighed and motioned for Rogue to move as he got to his feet. The remnants of sleep clung to his muscles and mind, making him feel unusually sluggish, but he wrote that off to recuperation, his body still healing from days of abuse and running on literally empty. Carefully, he padded towards the alcove used for the file cabinets between the bed area and Beast's office, Rogue following at a short distance. "Now," he said softly, an ear peeled for Kitty, "what were you saying?"
Rogue licked her lips a trifle nervously. Something about the way she was looking at him, Kurt thought, was strange. It was like she was trying to see inside his thoughts, but he knew she lacked that ability. Her gaze was too intent, her face to set, to put him at ease. "I was wondering...I mean, are you really okay?"
The question caught him off guard. He rocked back on his heels, his words stuck in his throat for a moment. He had been expecting something more...revelation like... "Ja, fine. Tired. A little...surly...but fine."
Rogue nodded slowly. "I mean, no one hurt you or nothin'?"
"Rogue, did someone harm you? Did they...violate you?" The way she was avoiding his eyes, looking only at her shoes and seemingly hugging herself, her arms wrapped around her waist, bespoke some sort of shame. He laid a tentative hand on his half sister's shoulder. "Bitte...are you hurt?" A tangle of worry was quickly working into a knot of fear in his belly, cold dread spreading to his limbs, his tail lashing in agitation. "Rogue, pl tel tell me..."
She smiled thinly and shook her head. "I'm fine. I just wanted to make sure you were really okay." She leaned towards him impulsively as if she were going to hug him but stopped herself. "You're sure?"
"Positive. You were there, Rogue. You know what happened..." He narrowed his eyes and peered at her closely. "You look unwell." In truth, she looked too fleshy. Instead of the usual defined cheekbones, her cheeks appeared slightly swollen. Her usually slightly smeared lipstick was too dark, like she was hiding something. "Are *you * okay?"
She laughed lightly and pulled away. "Just fine! I was just worried about you. I mean, you had it worst of all, what with the mood swings and the behavior changes and all." She turned and headed back into the sleeping area tossing over her shoulder, "Can't a sister worry about her brother?"
Kurt did not respond, merely waved vaguely at her as she let herself out of the room. His brow still furrowed, he went back to bed and crawled in, glancing at Kitty's sleeping form as he arranged the thin blanket over his knees. He could still hear Tabby, now whistling, and Beast's low rumble of a voice on the phone in his office. He felt, he thought to himself, like he was out of place. Like a felt cutout against a painted backdrop. Too bright, too defined, too too. He lay back uneasily, unable to place a name to the fear, and closed his eyes, knowing he would not sleep. The soft slide of the door across linoleum made him open his eyes again, wondering who it was. Rogue walked straight to the lab, calling Tabby's name softly. There was a muted conversation and Rogue appeared again, making a beeline for the door. "Forget something?" he asked lightly in hopes of starting conversation again, if only to get a better bead on her mood.
"Huh? Hey, I was wonderin' how you were doin'..." She paused and smiled, pushing her bangs out of her face. "Y'all sleepin'? Damn, lucky!"
Kurt blinked. "You were just in here."
"Right. Night night, dopey boy," she laughed, letting herself out of the lab, leaving a very confused Kurt in her wake. She rounded the corner at the end of the hall and ran into Todd, coming the other way. "Hey! I'm on my way up! They didn't have to send you to look for me!"
He glared. "Ha ha ha. Funny. Whatever." He tried to push past her but met resistance in the form of her hand on his chest. " Ain't you done enough to me today?" he snarled, pointing to his eye.
Rogue blinked, taken aback. A red welt was now visible in the half light of the corridor, obviously a strike. "Todd...who..."
"Don't play dumb," he snapped, evading her grasp. "Just.n'tn't."
Rogue stared after him, stunned. "What the fuck?"


1 From a funny greeting card. *shrug *