Constant Craving

CONSTANT CRAVING CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Mad Queen of Plotbunnies, has a mildly frightened consort. Here, mad means angry and he thinks she's very upset. Something about chocolate...sheets...hope she doesn't see the laundry. *shrug * I didn't catch all of it... Vampyre: I think the poor little guy is all tuckered out...time to switch players! InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are fanfreakingtastic for archiving. I bow before you (you can't see me doing it but it's quite courtly). Readers/Reviewers: An aside from the menagerie, I just want to let y'all know that I love you guys for reading this...well, minisaga, even when it doesn't seem to make much sense (there's a method to my madness...) and for reviewing when you can! Now...back to the ducks. One of them bit a Killer Kitty(tm) and I suspect it was a hit ordered by the platypi.


_I'm going to fucking kill Pietro. Castrate him, feed him his dick before he dies and then stomp on his corpse. _ Tabby heaved again into the sink, the shower running full blast behind her to drown out the sounds of vomiting. _Nothing is working right. Yeah, it's fun fucking up the X-geeks, but this isn't helping me... _ Her stomach roiled once more and Tabby groaned at the feeling of her empty gut trying to expel nonexistent contents. _Okay. Time to fall back. Recon. Play nice and see what I can do to salvage this mess. Long and short of it, I need money but fast and blackmail is tried and true. _ Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, Tabby cleaned the sink as best she could, shut off the shower and walked out of the bathroom straight into Jean Grey. "Jean," she said tight-lipped, knowing full well what her breath smelled like.
"We need to talk. Now." Jean said softly, voice laden with malice.
"I gotta go help clean the kitchen before dinner. Can't help ya, Red!" Tabby ducked around the taller girl but found herself brought up short, unable to unlock her limbs. Jean moved her down the hall, Tabby too surprised to protest much. "Where are you taking me? Gonna kick my ass or something?"
Jean snorted. "Hardly. That would be too fun and probably just what you want..." The door to the upstairs study swung open and Tabby found herself droppncernceremoniously on the floor. "Don't even say 'ouch,' Boom Boom. You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do!" Jean snapped, slamming the door behind her.
"I have no idea what you mean..." Tabby felt a pang in her chest but ignored it, shoving it past the nausea and rising irritation to stand and attempt to look down her nose at Jean.
"The fire, messing with Lance, blackmailing Kurt to get him to ask the Professor to let you stay then giving Kitty the picture anyway...and I know that you planted those drugs in the Jeep...even a blind man could have spotted that feeble attempt at getting Kitty in trouble!" Jean was close but not touching Tabby, her mind reaching out to feel for the dark thoughts of the blonde girl.
"Keep reaching, Red," Tabby snarled. "You're getting nothin' offa me...what makes you think I had something to do with the weed, huh? Ever think maybe Kitty's a little freak when no one's around? Or maybe, just maybe it was Lance? I think I need to tell the Professor that you're picking on me. And here I am trying to fit in, to give up my evil ways..." Tabby smirked at Jean's disgusted expression. "Long and short of it is, Jean, that I'm just a lost little lamb crying out for help as far as the Professor is concerned...you ratting on me will look nothing more than a pack of lies when I turn on the water works." To prove this, Tabby's eyes suddenly started streaming tears, her lower lip trembling. In fact, Jean was hit by a wave of sorrow and panic, thoughts flying around her claiming innocence and denying culpability for any wrongdoing.
Clenching her jaw, Jean gritted "I don't know how you're doing it Tabby-your mind isn't strong enough to block me that well..." She allowed a small sneer at the short girl, "but know this...the Professor is not easy to fool. He's going to see right through your little ruse and make you pay for every drop of misery you've ever given us."
"Nice speech, Little Mary Sunshine. Now fuck off..." Tabby shoved past Jean and was half way out the door before turning to spit at her, "I am not getting out of here without what I came for."

Kitty had made her Tzimmies in record time only to have to beat Kurt away with a wooden spoon when he tried to steal a handful. "Wait until dinner, sweetie!"
"Come on, Liebes. We're going to watch _Kate and Leopold1 _ . Katja insisted..." he rolled his eyes.
Kitty laughed a little weakly. "I really don't feel like it after all. Would you mind terribly if I just took a nap?"
Kurt frowned in concern. "Katzchen, this problem is going to blow over. I promise..."
"I just have a headache, Kurt...I'm confused and my eyes hurt...I just need a nap before dinner."
"Most people nap after Thanksgiving dinner, Half-Pint..." Logan emerged from the mudroom, shaking a few flakes of snow off his jacket.
"Snowing? Already? It's only November!" Kitty said with some surprise.
"Snow! Already? And it's only November!" Kurt sounded considerably more excited, jittering next to his girlfriend.
Logan snorted. "Don't get too excited, Elf. It's just a few flurries. Not even sticking." Kurt's face fell and Kitty's brightened at this bit of news. "How's dinner coming?" The smell of cooking food impregnated the air even outside the mansion, but to Logan's sensitive nose, the aromas were almost overwhelming in the kitchen.
Kitty shrugged. "Okay...we're done cooking our desserts. Remy and Scott are checking on the turkey...well, one of them, anyway. Lance and Todd took charge of the one in here."
"Where's the other one?" Kurt asked with raised brows.
Logan smirked. "Don't ask...just stay off the back porch at the risk of turkey shrapnel when that thing goes up in flames..."
Kitty snorted and Kurt still looked confused. "They're deep frying it, sweetie," she explained.
Kurt sighed and looked at Kitty with something akin to amusement. "Katzchen, I never want to hear you complain about bratwurst again..."
She giggled then, feeling a little lighter as Kurt kissed her on the nose. Logan, rattling a box of crackers, muttered something about hormones before Kitty took the box from his hands. "You'll ruin your dinner!"
"Look who you're talking to, Half Pint!"
Kitty was adamant. "Storm will kill me if she knows I let you fill up on crackers so you can't eat her sweet potatoes." She thought she detected a flinch at the mention of the weather witch. "Where is Storm anyway?"
"How should I know?" Logan snapped, making Kurt jump a little. "I'm gonna go check on those yahoos on the back patio..." he said sharply as he stalked out of the kitchen.
"Katzchen," Kurt said after a moment, "what was that about?"
"Long story, baby...you know, I do feel like watching the movie after all..."

Jamie, on a "snack finding mission," found Tabby huddled in the phone room. He had been on his way to the kitchen, pondering the strange behavior of Kurt's youngest sister towards Rahne (_Why does she glare at Rahne all the time? She's only been here a day...maybe she misunderstood something Rahne said. I know her accent can get thick sometimes! Maybe Erika just scowls a lot. _ ) when he heard rsh rsh sob to his right. Pausing, he perked his ears for any other sounds but found only silence. As he started walking again, he heard the low whispers of an angry female. Who the heck is that?
Tabitha was unaware she was being listened to. "Pietro...listen to me! I'm not asking for a fortune for once. I just need help and this is your fault anyway... Damn it, listen to me! No...yes, I'm here. I tried that but it all got fucked up somehow...fine, fine. If I have to do this myself, you're gonna be sorry, asshole!"
Jamie nearly jumped out of his skin as she slammed the phone down and flung open the door. "Um, hi, Tabby!" he squeaked when he knew there was no way to avoid being seen. _What's that Remy told me? Confront trouble, don't hide from it... _
Tabby made to shove him but paused, narrowing her eyes. "What'd you hear, geek?"
"Huh? Hear?" Jamie pasted on his best confused-and-innocent expression, one that got him out of trouble on several occasions.
Tabby grabbed him by his shirtfront and yanked him close, her breath in his ear making him cringe. "I find out you been spying on me, I'll make you wish you were never born!"
Jamie waited until Tabby stalked around the corner before sagging against the wall and gasping for breath. "What did she do that for?" a feminine voice cut through his mild panic.
"Huh? Oh....hey, Erika." Jamie straightened and tried to look as if he had not just been freaking out. "Tabby's a little...off."
"Ja, I know. She got Kitty in trouble on purpose." The story of the drug bust had made it around the mansion in record time, each and every resident hearing at least two versions before damage control could slide the truth in between the fancy. Erik leaned in conspiratorially and whispered "My sisters and I have a plan to get her caught!"
"What is it?" Jamie was frankly curious. He leaned in as well, not noticing the slight intake of breath from Erika when his forehead brushed hers.
"It's complicated..." she breathed.
Jamie smiled a little then. "Good...complicated is good sometimes. At least that's what Remy told me once. I have to find Scott. He needs to know what I just heard....want to walk and talk?" Erika could only nod and let Jamie lead the way to the back patio.

Scott frowned deeply. "What?"
"It sounded like she's planning something," Jamie stated, summing up his accidental eavesdropping with one sentence.
Remy snorted. "We coulda figgered dat out widout yo' recon, Jamie." He poked his metal skewer at the pot of oil. "What you tink, Scott?"
Jamie raised an eyebrow. He had heard that the other guys were getting along better but he had yet to see it for himself. Remy deferring to Scott was new and more than a little surprising. "Erika says she has a plan..."
Male eyes turned to her assessingly. Erika had never felt more like giggling in her life. "Um...maybe Katja should explain it...I'll go get her!" She turned and ran as fast as she could, disappearing back into the house before any of them could encourage her to stay.
"She's just like Kurt-quicker than you can catch." Scott sighed. "We need to have a meeting."
"A meetin'?" Remy, gritting his teeth, pulled the turkey out of the oil and quickly put it on a tray, muttering "ow ow ow ow ow ow" when he got splattered with oil in the process. "What dat gonna do?"
"We can figure out a way to trap her, catch her in her own game...Where are Lance and Todd?"
Jamie piped up, "I saw Lance wandering the upstairs hall, talking to himself." He shrugged, "I thought it was some Brotherhood thing."
Remy snorted. "Magneto got dat effect on a homme... I'll go get him." Remy, tray balanced carefully, headed into the house. "Meet back here?" Scott nodded distractedly and Remy went into the house, leaving Jamie with the older mutant.
"Want me to get Todd?" Jamie asked eagerly, wanting to be in on the pwithwith the others.
"Sure...I think he's in the gazebo with Rogue." _What harm can it do? It's not like he can bust in on them having sex... _ "I'll go find Kurt and we'll all meet back here."
"What about the girls?" Jamie asked, backing away.
Grimly, Scott said, "They wanted to see us make nice and work together, well they're about to get their socks knocked off!"

Kurt sighed contentedly, pulling Kitty closer. Dinner was a few hours away, they had done their part and all that was left was to get dressed and show up well-scrubbed and polite, according to Logan's directives. "Katzchen, are you happy?" he asked out of the blue.
Kitty looked up at him oddly. Katja was dozing as the hero of the movie won the heart of Meg Ryan and Anja was outright snoring. Quietly, she answered, "In general or about something specific?"
"In general, I guess..."
"Compared to other people in the world, I am insanely happy and lucky. No matter what is going on here, things could always be worse." Kitty settled back against his chest and felt Kurt sigh. "But specifically, I am out of my mind with happiness to be with you." Kitty smiled to herself as she felt him relax. "You?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Katja muttered, pulling her sleeves over her hands. "Kurt is madly in love with you. If he were any happier, he'd explode."
Kurt opened his mouth to say something indignant, but Kitty giggled. After a moment, he placed a kiss on her earlobe and said "I am nothing if not amusing, ja?"
"Oh, Kurt...you're not amusing. Well, you are but...aw, Hell. I love you Fuzzy." Kitty returned the kiss then tapped him on the arm. "Now hush. Hugh Jackman is about to win the girl."
Kurt could appreciate romance so he did not protest. He could, however, protest Erika's rather noisy entrance during a crucial love scene. "Katja! Come here for a minute!"
"Nooooo....lemme nap!" Katja turned her back to her sister and snuggled against Kurt's side.
"What's wrong, Kat?" Kurt whispered, careful not to awaken Anja, who was still snoring softly.
"Um..." Erika looked at Kitty, who was unaware of their nascent plan. "Nothing...just tell Katja I need to talk to her when she wakes up."
"Where are you going?" Kitty asked as the young girl backed from the room. "The movie's just getting really good."
"I'm going to go back and, um, hang out with Jamie some more. He was showing me around the grounds," she shrugged. With a nod to her brother, she disappeared out the door, her footsteps fast fading down the hall.
"Tell me something, sweetie," Kitty asked after a moment, "is it just you Wagners that are hyperactive or is it all circus performers?"
"I think it's all of 'em, Kitty..." Scott said, sticking his head around the edge of the door. "Kurt, can I see you for a moment?"
"I'm kind of in the middle of a movie, here, Scott."
"Just for a few minutes. And besides, everyone needs to start getting ready for dinner anyway," Scott said pointedly. Kitty sighed and turned off the tape, letting Kurt rise carefully as she gently shook Anja to wakefulness. "I'll return him unscathed, Kitty..."
"You'd better. You know how hard it is to find blue, fuzzy elves with cute asses this time of year?" she said, winking broadly. Katja snickered and Kitty giggled, the sound drifting after Kurt as Scott all but dragged him out the door.
"What's wrong, Scott?"
They were halfway down the back hall before Scott answered. "Tabby's up to no good and we're planning a trap."
"My sisters have a plan..."
"Erika said, but she told us Katja would have to explain it. We're gonna take things from this end, though. I don't want them getting caught up in all this..." he waved vaguely. "And I would think you would want to protect them."
Kurt snorted. "There's no stopping my sisters when they have a plan. Besides, I do want to protect them but that doesn't mean I have to coddle them."
Remy and Lance were already waiting when Scott and Kurt emerged onto the back porch. "Where's Todd and Jamie?" Scott asked with vague impatience.
"Here," Jamie's voice carried to them. Todd was behind him, a few paces slower, looking a little pink. Jamie, for his part, looked almost ill.
"What's with you two?" Lance asked, brows raised.
"Don't wanna know," Todd muttered. He was avoiding Jamie's gaze studiously. "Just...don't use the gazebo to make out, right?"
Jamie spoke again, a little awed, "How can you do that with her...um...problem?"
"Personal stuff, Jamie..." Todd muttered. Remy outright laughed and Scott rolled his eyes.
"I'll draw a diagram later, Kid," Lance teased, nudging Jamie with his elbow. "What's the plan, Scott?"
Scott drew a deep breath before speaking. "Okay, it's like this. We need to catch Tabby out. The best way to do that is to make her think that she has allies here, confidants. We're going to have to make her think you guys," he indicated Lance and Todd, "are still sympathetic to the Brotherhood and want to help her out."
The males in question exchanged glances. "I'm not sure I want to do that, yo...Me and Rogue, we're really getting somewhere and I don't want to fuck that up."
Lance nodded in agreement. "Amara would have my balls for earrings if she thought I was dicking around with you guys again."
"And Kitty's so happy right now...I don't want her to be disappointed in me. Can we just tell the girls?"
"No!" Scott said emphatically. "The more people know, the more likely it is to get back to Tabby. Besides, what better way to prove to the women that we can work together than something like this?"
Jamie spoke up. "I don't know if this is a good idea, Scott."
"Why not?"
"What if it doesn't work and all it does is make the girls mad at us?"
"It'll work, Jamie...it'll work. Now, here's what we're going to do: Lance, Todd-nrcy,rcy, okay? Be total jerks to us. Guys, same for you. Be jackasses to Lance and Todd. Um, no hard feelings, right?"
Lance smirked as he answered "So now you want us to be pro-Brotherhood? The mind boggles, Summers!"
Remy asked quickly, before Scott could snap a reply, "Am I Brotherhood or Institute?"
"Which do you want to be?" Scott asked.
Thinking about what Jubilee had promised to do for him that night, Remy sighed. _Got a bettah chance o'her still doin' it if'n I don' fuck wid de Institute... _ "I guess I be an X Man today..."
Scott nodded. "Okay. No leaks, right?"
"What're you looking at me for?" Jamie whined. "I don't leak! Hey! Stop laughing! I didn't mean for it to come out like that...Hey!"
1 Shameless Hugh Jackman reference... I keep picturing suave Leopold sprouting claws and slashing someone...