Forever

FOREVER—CHAPTER 32 (NC-17)

 

Standard disclaimers still apply.

 

A/N Foxfeather is spiffy.
J She reads all the crap I send her and hasn’t
yelled at me yet! lol… InterNutter is
nifty is well—she is letting me abuse the hell out of her springboard. Go read their fic and revel in their
respective coolness. J Thank you lots and lots and lots and lots to
everyone who reviewed—one more chapter after this one and then it’s off to
Shiva, the follow up. It is set in the
Forever universe and a continuation of the events set into motion in this
story…

 

 



They moved
to the door as a group, something that would have been funny to them all if
they had not been experiencing various stages of terror. Logan, being the least afraid, led the pack. Kitty and Kurt were grasping each other
tightly, shuffling behind Logan. Astrid
tucked her needlework under her arm and marched as if to battle, chin thrust
high and eyes snapping fire. “Ready?”
Logan asked, one hand on the doorknob, the other clenched at his side, ready to
unleash fury if need be. Kitty nodded
shakily and Logan took a deep breath.
“Here goes nothin’.” He was
actually a little scared now, scared that he—they—might lose Kitty somehow, and
that was a loss he was not prepared for.
Kitty squeezed her eyes shut as the door swung open, startled when Kurt
suddenly burst out in nervous laughter.


“I’m
sorry—I forgot my keys when I went to the garage and the door was locked…” Beast looked sheepish.

Logan
grunted, “I was wondering why I hadn’t heard a car. Thought I was unmutating.”
The shorter man huffed in suppressed nerves and the small pack broke
up. Beast looked askance at Logan and
Astrid but was met with evasive, distracted glances. Kitty melted against Kurt and he helped her back to the study,
back to the fainting couch where she could see out the window. Astrid followed slowly, chewing her lower
lip, adrift without the adrenaline pumping through her system. Logan stood in the front hall and murmured
to Beast, just beneath the range of normal hearing.

“God, I
think I might be sick…” Kitty sounded
shaky.

“Breathe in
through your nose and out through your mouth, Katzchen…try to relax.” Kurt took up her wrist and pressed firmly
about half an inch from the juncture of her palm and wrist.[1] “Feel better?”

“A
little…” Kitty sniffed back rising
tears. Kurt continued pressing her
wrist and she laid her head on his shoulder.
He had not worn his holo on purpose, wanting the Prydes to show their
hand and maybe, just maybe, tip the scales in favor of Kitty if it came down to
it.

“Katzchen,
you have nothing to worry about. You
have your…plan…and you have meine Mama and Logan, and hell, the whole Institute
behind you today.”

“Plan…plan…shit! My papers!”
Kitty was on her feet in a flash, Kurt coming with her perforce. His fingers were still pressing on her
pressure point and Kitty did not seem to notice. “I left them in my room!”

“It’s okay,
Kitty—Kurt, let her go get what she needs!”
Astrid had been making a vague attempt at her needle work and turned
when Kitty leapt to her feet. She
spared her son an amused grin, nodding to the death grip he seemed to have on
Kitty’s wrist.

“Oh…Sorry,
Katzchen! Go, run!” Logan was all but pressed to the window,
Kurt saw, and the sound of a car on gravel could be heard. Kitty sucked in a deep breath and ran,
phasing through everything in her path.
“When she’s in a hurry…”

Astrid smiled faintly and Logan
grunted, still fixed on the window. “It’s Chuck and Storm.” Tension leaked off of Logan in waves, but he
remained vigilant. The sounds of the
hospital group returning drifted through the open study door and Kurt caught a
glimpse of Amara, looking haggard and walking stiffly, being led by Storm up
the stairs. “Kid looks like she’s been
rode hard and put up wet.”[2]

Kurt felt uneasiness rise in his
belly, different than that which he felt for Kitty. Amara looked like the walking dead, her skin having lost its
usual glow and her hair hanging lank, framing a face with sunken eyes. Protect me from your devils…Surreptitiously,
he made a hex sign low by his hip, unaware that his own mother was doing the
same thing not three feet away. Kitty
slid into the room then, her expression of nervousness now mixed with worry. “I just saw Amara…”

“Ja, us too…”

“What—“

“They’re here.” Logan cut off anything Kitty was about to
say. The Professor wheeled himself into
the study and took position behind the desk.
Logan stalked to the front door and Astrid tucked her needlework into
the space between the cushion and the arm of the chair.

“Last chance, love,” Kitty
murmured, suddenly calm. She leaned
into Kurt’s arms and pressed a fevered kiss to his lips, pulling away before he
could respond in kind. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Logan was preceded into the room by a tall, thin man that greeted the
Professor with a nod—the arbitrator—and then Kitty’s parents, walking side by
side but otherwise looking separated from each other. They met no eyes as they entered the room and Kurt was sure he
felt Kitty tremble with a mixture of relief and fear at his side. “Zero hour…” she whispered.

“I’m here, Liebes.” Kitty’s parents had not yet noticed Beast,
lurking by the door, nor had they even looked at Kurt, unaware that he was in
all his blue glory. Astrid politely
motioned them to sit on the sofa while Kitty found her legs and moved to sit on
the love seat, directly across from the desk where the arbitrator was setting
out stacks of papers and folders; Kurt slid down next to her, his eyes seeking
his mother’s for reassurance. She smiled
tightly and nodded, as if telling him to fight the good fight. Logan assumed a position of intimidation,
standing behind Kitty with his arms crossed, a more fierce scowl than usual
fixed on his face. The Prydes finally
noticed Kurt and Golda swooned, clutching at her husband’s now-tense arm. Kurt
could not help it—he bared his teeth at them in a feral grin. Logan gave him a light tap on the back of
his head, ceasing Kurt’s attitude problem.
Beast was still unnoticed and Kurt marveled at how the huge man could
remain unnoticed for so long, given his blue fur and general size. We’re both blue, we’re both furry…How
come people notice small me before large him?

The room was painfully still, the
only sound being the shuffling of papers by the arbitrator and the occasional
crinkling of the sheaf that Kitty had tucked under her arm. Several interminable minutes passed and
finally words were spoken. The
arbitrator looked up and said “Now.
Let’s get started.”

 

Amara stared at her ceiling and
prayed that it would open into a huge mouth to swallow her whole. Storm had left her a cup of rapidly cooling,
spiced milk “to help her relax,” but Amara found the smell to be enough to turn
her stomach. Her stomach….Two days
ago life was in here and I never even knew how to feel about it. She passed her fingertips over the flat
plane of her belly and paused where the baby would have been, making small
circles with her fingers as if feeling for any remaining signs of life. Ripped from me and unwillingly in
me. You never wanted to be inside me
did you? Lance would never have wanted
you. He doesn’t love me—he lusts for
me. I am a whore. I gave my purity to him in a vain attempt to
get Scott, who I haven’t thought on once in over a week. Scott would not notice if I danced naked on
the roof of the school at high noon, singing the national anthem. Amara found that she could not roll
over, even if she wanted to. I am
dust. I am nothing but dust here. I take up space and cloud beauty. Kitty is loved because she is sweet and
pure. Jean is loved because she is
strong and beautiful. Jubilee,
Rogue…Remy loves them both, I think.
Lusts or loves. I am used
because I want to be used. Lance
doesn’t love me. He loves having
someone by his side to plot and snark and destroy. Maybe Tabitha was too strong for him. I need to move now. I
need to let the police know if I want to press charges on her or not…will Lance
hate me if I do? Do I care? How do I
get to Nova Roma from here? Amara
did not hear Storm enter to check on her.
The older woman looked on the Nova Roman with great concern—Amara’s eyes
were unfocused and glassy, flitting from side to side like hummingbirds. She lay stiff as a board beneath the sheets,
hands crossed over her abdomen and pressing flat. Storm saw that the milk had not been drunk nor had the pills, an
antidepressant, been taken.

“Child, I cannot make you
well. You have to choose that road on
your own. But do not let yourself drift
away out of shame. I think that you
will find the only one who has yet to forgive yo you your own self…” Storm moved Amara’s arms so that they were
beneath the covers and turned off the bedside lamp. Try and sleep, child.
I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Storm watched Amara for another few minutes, realizing that the girl had
no idea where she was, really, and that she did not see her at all. Storm felt her cool exterior crack with
worry. Separation from the self is
the first sign of impending demise…

 

Kitty listened to the arbitrator, Mister
Bloom, drone on about the precepts of law in cases such as this, the binding
nature of the outcome of this meeting, and myriad other things that turned to
white noise in her ears. All she wanted
to do was lay out her papers, present them and say, “Look! You have no hold on me!” but the man
insisted on going through the necessary formalities before permitting either
side to present their case. The
Professor had taken a discreet position near Beast, quiet but watchful. Astrid remained near the window but made her
presence known by the impatient clicking of her heels as she tapper fer foot in
nervousness. Looking over at her own
parents, Kitty saw that they were still gawking at Kurt, anger and hatred mixed
with bare fear on their faces. Feeling
Kurt’s rebellious anger spill over into her, Kitty looped her arm through his
and pointedly leaned closer to him, still decorous but obviously claiming her
own. Finally, Mi Blo Bloom (“Call me
Artie”) indicated that he was ready to begin hearing the case. “Now, as I understand it, Mister and Misses
Pryde are accusing the Institute and its associated adults members of
contributing to the delinquency of a minor….” His voice trailed off as he
scanned the charges, words emerging in drifts, “…fornication…bestiality…theft?” Artie looked up at Kitty and his brow
creased with worry. “Would you like to
go first?”

“Actually, I would like for you to
read the charges formally.”

“What?” Artie sounded a little surprised. Kurt tensed next to Kitty, feeling her nervous energy wafting
from her very pores and causing his own muscles to run taut as a
bowstring.

Kitty leaned forward and licked her
lips, her entire body trembling with pent up tension. “Could you please read the charges formally? I think I might have a question…”

“Okay…” He shuffled back through
his papers and produced the official document.
The Prydes huffed and snarled in frustration but muted themselves when
the assembled group turned a collective glare on them. “Mort and Golda Pryde hereby bring charges
against the Xavier Institute, Charles Xavier, Ororo Munro, Henry McCoy and
Logan…I’m sorry—this doesn’t have Logan’s surname.”

“It’s my legal name. Just Logan.” The man in question brooked no
argument and Artie swallowed convulsively.

“Ah, well then. Okay.
“The charges include contributing to the delinquency of one Katherine
Elaine Pryde by knowingly allowing fornication in the form of statutory rape by
one Kurt Wagner to occur repeatedly on school premises. Charges also extend to permitting the theft
of heirlooms from the Pryde residence, denial of parental rights, and gross
negligence of a minor. These charges
hereby replace those filed formally with the State of New York, City of
Bayville, District Attorney’s Office.”[3]

Kitty smiled beatifically and slid
the thick envelope out from under her arm.
“I think you came all this way for nothing, Mister Bloom.”

“Pardon me?”

Conscious of her parents’—of
everyone’s—eyes on her, Kitty slowly rose, handing the envelope to Artie. “Those charges can’t be tried one way or the
other because Katherine Elaine Pryde doesn’t exist.” There was a collective whoosh of breath being released around the
room as Artie took the papers from a jittering Kitty. “I think you’ll find evidence of that fact in those papers.”

“Kitty! What the hell are you on about?” Her mother rose on tottering heels and took
two steps towards Kitty before the girl held out a restraining hand.

“The Prydes
don’t exist, not legally…”

“She’s
right. I’ll have to verify this, but
she’s right!” Artie stood and paced in
agitated excitement. “You are a clever
girl, you know that?”

“What the
hell…” Mort was on his feet now,
oblivious to the roomful of grinning mutants and Astrid.

“Your
family name was never changed to Pryde from Prydakos. According to this, you never filed the
application. Kitty—may I still call you
that?—Kitty’s birth certificate even attests to that fact. In fact…even the statutory rape charge can
be dismissed.”

“Vas?” twin
voices chorused.

Kitty was
smiling broadly now and the Professor chuckled, whispering something to Beast
who passed it on to Logan. Soon all three men werortlortling softly among
themselves as Artie pored one last time over the documents. “It seems that thhas has been some creative
record keeping on the part of the Prydes…Katherine Elaine Pryde is a false
record. Aikaterine Tzeitel Esther
Prydakos is the real girl.”

“My parents
unofficially changed my name so that I would “fit in” at school.” Kitty explained.

“That means
that your birth certificate on file is false?”

“Yes, Dr.
McCoy, I believe it is…” Kitty felt
Kurt’s warmth as he slid up behind her, wrapping her in a tight hug. “See?
I can be clever, too!”

“But the
necklace! The book!” Golda fairly
howled in pain.

“Mine. You can have the damned money, but Yaya is
mine!” Kitty twisted free of Kurt and
bared her teeth angrily at her parents.
“I’ll give the entire sum to you if you sign my custodianship over to
Logan properly, under real names Mordechai and Golda Prydakos.”

“Can she do
that?” Mort sounded angry but resigned;
Kitty knew that he was looking for a loophole in this mess.

“You did it
to yourselves, I’m afraid…” Artie was shuffling papers and putting them back in
his briefcase. “However, from what I’ve
seen, Kitty and her guardians can sue you for child abuse and abandonment
yourselves. Kitty, Kurt, the rape
charge will be dropped. The charge
involved Kitty Pryde as a legal entity but…” He spread his hands by way of
explanation.

“Mein
Sohn!” Astrid rushed forward and swept
Kurt into a hug, the enormity of what might have been hitting her like a ton of
bricks. Kurt hugged his mother fiercely
back, wrapping his tail around Kitty’s wrist to include her by proxy.

“Logan, if
you don’t mind, could you please call Bayville’s finest? I would like to file a complaint of
harassment as well as breaking and entering against Mordechai Prydakos…” The
Professor’s cool voice sliced through the early jubilation of the room. “That is…if it’s alright with Kitty?”

Kitty
froze, conflicting feelings rising in her breast. She looked at her furious parents, the family who brought her
physical life. Turning her head, she
saw the adults of the Institute, Kurt and Astrid—her family that brought her
emotional and spiritual life. The family
Yaya always told her she deserved, the family she had always wanted. We’re weird, but we love each other…
“That’s fine by me.”

 

A/N Next
up: the last chapter! * sniff * Seriously, I really am continuing this in Shiva,
the title which will be explained in the first chapter. J

 





[1] Accupressure
point that helps relieve nausea. Same
as pressing on the webbing between your thumb and forefinger or, if you don’t
have pierced ears, pressing the earlobe or the spot where the fatty bit melds
into the hard bit.

[2] Not as dirty
as it sounds. Just means someone looks
like they’re the worse for wear.

[3] Not my best
legalese but let’s pretend this is how the charges would read, yes?