Carne Vale

CARNE VALE CHAPTER FIFTY NINE (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, I don't want to know why Billy says he left his kilt over there, just have Tim bring it back at the next coffee klatch... InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink make me giggle like a little girl because they archive. :) Readers/Reviewers: The Killer Kitties (tm) and their Killer Minions (tm) are off celebrating Easter and Pesach and won't be back until the next story...the platypi are pagan, though, so they're here until Beltane. ;) And they're erecting a Maypole in the backyard, which is playing havoc with my view of the very attractive neighbor skinny dipping... Just kidding. Maybe... (Don't blame me...it's almost Beltane!)



Thursday was cold and miserable with the threat of rain heavy in the air. _Either Storm is royally pissed or the weather is taking a turn for the suckage _, Kitty sighed to herself as she stared out the casement windows of the math hall. The henna1 on her hands was drawing unwanted glances so she tucked them under her desk, making a small show of studying the open page of her textbook. She did not remember any one staring so intently last year, but then again, she realized, last year at this time, she was still embroiled in trying to extricate herself from her relationship with Lance. _I think I would like a boring year next year. Just dull and plain and nothing interesting happens at all. I think I could handle that. _ She glanced up guiltily as the bell rang, the lack of writing in her binder a testament to her inattention. The four day weekend would be a welcome respitom tom the insanity of the past week. School had been closed Wednesday to do damage control after Duncan got shot and Thursday was proving to be useless for schoolwork since all anyone wanted to talk about was the shooting, the rumors spreading like wildfire and rendering the Kitty-Todd rumor null and void. Miss Blau-Kitty could not quite bring herself to call her Mystique at school, even in her head-had called an assembly for that morning, appearing terse and drawn, the white bandage on her neck doing nothing to diminish the fear she inspired in some students, and announced that Duncan Would be returning to school after Easter break, he was doing fine, and the injury was minimal. No, she added, they had not found who had done the shooting but there were some credible leads. Kitty knew she was lying. So did the other members of the Institute, judging by the rows of scowls in the back of the auditorium.
She turned everything over and over in her mind, trying to think of a way to make everything instantly right. Some sort of magic mutant power that would put Mystique in her place, put Pietro in a loony bin or wherever he needed to be, make everyone at school stop gossiping and mocking and picking, and make Duncan forget their existence when he returned. She slammed her locker shut and turned to find Kurt smiling broadly at her. "What're you so happy about?" she asked flatly.
"It's Holy Thursday."
"And?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes before grinning again. "Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday...Easter!" he said, ticking the days off on his fingers.
"Kurt, how can you be so cheerful?" she cried, ticking off sotto voce the things that were dragging her down.
He looked up and down the hall. People were clearing out and heading home, the half-day schedule making everyone loud and giddy as they rushed into the disturbingly cool spring day. Taking Kitty by the arm, he lead her around a corner and into a small alcove by the library where water fountains used to be mounted. "Kitty, it's like this...we're human. Only human. We're mutants, sure, but still...We can't snap our fingers and have everything put to rights. We can't have all our problems solved in twenty five minutes with room for commercial breaks. Sometimes, we have to let things go on until we can do something about them. Little things, like Mystique being here. Things like Piet."
."
"Those aren't so little," she said furiously, though she did not make him let go of her arm. Rather, she reached for his other hand and pulled him closer, ostensibly so as not to be overheard.
"But in the grand scheme of things," he said patiently, "which is more important? The fact that this weekend, at least part of our frustration will be over, or the fact that someone you hate is principal of the school?" He did not address Pietro's situation, mainly becaue kne knew from Belladonna's not telling that the silver-haired mutant had nothing to do with the shooting. It had taken no time at all to put all the pieces together-Belladonna, Assassins' Guild...He did not want to know if Remy had called her or someone else had summoned her to Bayville, but he knew that he was not about to tell Kitty what he knew. Not just then, anyway.
Kitty sighed wistfully and looked up at him with tired eyes. "I wish we could, though."
"I know, Liebes, but it just doesn't work like that. This is real life, not some cartoon or something."2 He looked down the hall again and saw they were alone. He bent forward and kissed her chastely, primarily to stem the flow of words threatening to erupt from her lips but Kitty's gasp of surprise encouraged him to deepen the embrace, her book bag falling to the floor as he pushed her against the wall behind her. Kurt closed his eyes tightly against the swell of emotion and feeling within his breast, lust and love battling it out to see which would control the encounter. Kitty made it all a pleasant if mildly painful blur when she pressed against him, her breasts rubbing against his chest, soft and giving and beckoning his touch.
Kitty made tiny noise of startlement but did not protest the hand at her breast, Kurt's thumb rubbing almost idly across her hardening nipple. She pressed against him again, clear in her invitation though she knew, logically, it was not feasible for a few reasons. She felt his arousal against her, making her even more hungry for his touch as she darted her tongue into his mouth, feeling his kiss become needy. She clutched at the back of his neck, not letting him break the kiss when he tried to move.
"Bathroom?" he suggested when she finally let him breathe. He was breathing hard, his eyes slightly glazed over with his need for her.
"Can't...Monthly...you know..." She blushed and ducked her head.
Kurt was sorely tempted to say "So?" and drag her to the relative privacy of the bathroom anyway, but instead he sighed. Her assured "eeeeeeew!" was not exactly something he wanted to hear just then. "Ja, I know," he said finally, pulling her into a relatively innocent hug and resting his chin atop her head.
"You know," she said after a moment, "my period should be over Saturday and it's only fifty nine hours until Sunday..."3
"You're counting the hours?" he asked, smiling against her hair.
"Nine hundred and one down, fifty nine to go," she said, laughing a little."
"Well, when you put it that way," he said, pushing her back slightly to looked at her with a measuring gaze, "I say we try our best not to see each other for..."
Kitty looked at Kurt's watch. "Fifty eight hours and forty five seconds."
"Think we can make it this time?"
"I'll let you know when I see you," she said, scooping up her book back and standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "See you Sunday."
Kurt watched her jog down the hall towards where he knew Jubilee, Amara and Jean were waiting. _Fifty eight hours and some change...no problem. I have Church every night until then. I'll just...pray a lot. A whole lot... _ He found himself watching Kitty's rear as she dashed down the hall. _A whole HELL of a lot... _


Rogue was feeling very self-conscious. She knew that she was relatively alone on the grounds, most of the people having gone to church of one sort or another, or using the opportunity a four day weekend provided to go out late on a Thursday night. Of the few left at the mansion, she knew that Kitty was shut away with the Professor of all people, in the boathouse.4 Jubilee was in her room with the stereo on so loudly that the lyrics were discernible even in the kitchen. _You and me and the Devil makes three5 _, she thought to herself as she padded down across the foyer and out the front door. The lights in the boathouse were blazing and she could see Kitty standing in the open doorway, her voice carrying but just barely. _I could never convert...too many rules. _ Rogue pushed thoughts of the forthcoming holiday aside and headed directly for the dark shape moving around the edge of the lake. "Stay still," she whispered to the night, knowing full and well that Todd could not hear her. She quickened her pace to a near-jog and finally caught up with him the the broad marshy area where the property took a downward slope at the lake's eastern shore. He was intent on something, crouched low to the ground and staring at the reeds in the purple dusk. "Todd," she said softly, stopping several feet away.
"Gah!" He was on his feet and facing her more quickly than either of them had expected. "Damn, Marie!" he breathed, sorely startled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"I was makin' enough noise to wake the dead!" she said, though gently. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she stepped closer. "I was thinkin'...we're pretty much alone, everyone bein' diverted off to their own thing tonight...." She trailed off meaningfully.
Todd took a moment to process this. "It's not a safe time, you know."
"Duh."
"Just checking...last time, you didn't want to because it wasn't..."
"But we did." She took another step and bit her lip. "I was thinkin'," she said finally, "that maybe you're right after all. I need to trust myself more. If you aren't afraid, then I shouldn't be."
He stared at her for a moment before moving. He had her in an embrace before she could respond, kissing everywhere her clothes covered. Rogue stood stock still for a long moment, long enough for Todd to develop a raging case of self-doubt and start to pull away, an apology already forming on his lips, but she shook her head, silencing him. "I'd never be afraid of you," he said at last.
"Well, I'd suggest giving me a wide berth around the first week of the month in any case," she said, unwrapping the thin scarf from around her neck. "Here...just in case."
Todd took the thin fabric and looked from her to it and back again. "What do you want me to do with it?"
"You'll figure it out," she said cryptically, turning her back to him and heading into the dark woods, it's premature night engulfing her black-clad form before his very eyes.

She made it all the way to the small clearing she had found earlier in the week before she heard him making his way through the underbrush and detritus of the woods, cursing under his breath when caught by thorns or an errant branch. Rogue took a deep, nervous breath and shed her top quickly, her skirt, boots and tights following shortly. She looked down at herself and sighed. _I glow in the dark I'm so pale... _ She smoothed her hands unnecessarily over her skin as if she could push away any lingering nervousness and stood, unsure what to do with her arms, saved from trying to figure it out by Todd stumbling into the clearing. It was a small area, just enough space between the trees to lay down (she had checked earlier, blushing to herself as she thought of the reasons why), dotted with wild violets and some tiny blue and white flowers that no one seemed to know the name of. Rogue tried to smile but the best she could manage was looking slightly less pained than she had a moment before. Todd stopped as he broke through the trees, the scarf wadded in one hand as he looked at her with an expression between amusement and amazement. "You're naked," he said.
"Really?" she said, feigning surprise. "Hellfire! I lost my clothes somewhere between the lake and here!" _When all else fails, hide behind sarcasm! _
"You," he said, not able to hide his grin any longer, "are going to get me into a hell of a lot of trouble one day!"
"It'll be fun, though..."
"No doubt." He stood almost a foot from her, watching with no small fascination as the red blush crept up her chest and neck to her face, Rogue finally deciding that the best thing to do with her arms was to cross them over her chest. "Don't," he said, reaching for her but drawing back. He saw the look of hurt flash across her face before she realized that he had only paused to wrap his hands in the scarf, protecting them both. She closed her eyes at the first brush of sil silk-covered fingers over her shoulders and arms, moving to push her hands away from her chest. "I want to see all of you."
"You know what I look like," she sighed.
"So?" He carefully pressed himself against her, the scarf between them as he kissed her throat through the thin fabric. She shuddered minutely and leaned towards him, her hair falling to cover her eyes as she bent lower, brushing her lips across his hair. Todd's mind was moving a mile a minute, trying to determine the best way to do things without dying or becoming a vegetable. He finally stepped back a little and took one of her hands, pulling her down to the ground with him.
Rogue lay on her back, holding her breath for what reason she could not discern, but looking at the white stars just then appearing in the darkening sky. Todd was staring at her, she could feel it, and had the uncomfortable idea that she must look like a corpse, pale and still against the ground. She turned her face and felt her cheek press against the pine needles beneath her, making her shiver at the feeling of hundreds of prickles on her skin. Todd laid the scarf over her body, covering her breasts and stomach and lower, the fabric skimming the top of her thighs. It made her jump a little, the faint tickling sensation the scarf produced as Todd handled it almost reverently, as if he were afraid he was going to hurt her. "I won't break," she said, just to cut sil silence. She reached up and laid a hand on his arm and he smiled at her a little uncertainly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing...just having a moment." He carefully bent to kiss dra drawing the scarf between them. She giggled as the fabric tickled her skin but did not try to squirm away, instead reaching for where her skirt lay and feeling in the folds for it's pocket. "Here," she said softly, breaking their kiss, such as it was, to press a foil packet into his hand.
Todd nodded and turned from her to put everything to rights as she stared again at the sky, trying to slow her rapid pulse. She abandoned the idea as he leaned over her again, skimming his fingers and lips over everywhere the scarf covered. She shivered as the damp kisses he left cooled in the night air, raising goosebumps on her exposed flesh. She was visibly shaking by the time he ended his tortuous path at the edge of the scarf, just above her aching sex. Todd bit his lip, desperately wanting to kiss her there, to make her writhe as he had before on the lake shore and clutch at him in her needful pleasure, making him painfully hard for hours at the memory of it all. She made a mewling noise and arched slightly towards him, making him shake off his briefly held fantasies, filing it away for future use.
Rogue was seriously doubting the reliability of her choice of locales when Todd entered her, making her mind go blank before becoming a wonderful tangle of sensation and formless images that made her feel like she was falling. She was scarcely aware of details, just feeling as he moved within her, murmuring her name in her ear, his breath brushing her skin and hair, making her feel like giggling at the ticklish sensation. Their limited contact was enhanced by the rough feeling of the scarf rubbing against her stomach and breasts as Todd tried to hold off until she came first. He shifted and paused, pulling at the fabric between them to draw it lower, using it as a barrier as he began to trace the center of her need in tight circles, moving within her once more, though cautiously. Rogue felt the melting sensation begin in her stomach, burning and flowing through her entire body as her breath became high-pitched gasps, her hands clutching at his back to stave off the feeling of falling that was becoming dizzying.
Todd felt her contract around him and had to stop himself from kissinr lir lips, her neck, her shoulder, her breast...anywhere that was exposed, everywhere he wanted to as he felt his own climax begin. "Marie," he uttered, a harsh whisper in the quiet clearing. She made a soothing noise, meant to quiet him, but cried out herself the next moment, her nails biting into his back even through the fabric of his shirt.
Several dizzy, still moments passed after Todd rolled to lay on his side, disposing of the condom in ways Rogue did not want to fathom but making her pity whoever had grounds patrol the next week. Their breathing returned to relatively normal rates and Todd finally asked, "So why outside?"
"It occurred to me the other day," she said, moving to pull on her shirt but still talking, "that whenever people do it in the house, they get busted. I figured...cut our losses. If we're gonna get caught, may as well go all out."
Todd's loud laugh rang across the lake.

A/N Okay. More smut next chapter. But first...opinion. Do you want, in addition to Kurt/Kitty (at last!), for me to write a scene for Jean/Scott, Lance/Amara, Jubilee/Remy, or Logan/Storm? I'll tally... Whoever gets the most votes gets a sex scene. * g *
1In some Sephardic branches of Judaism, the women decorate their hands with henna for holy days in the manner of Middle Eastern and Indian/Pakistani women, the difference being that the designs are distinctly Jewish and tend to include n Dan David and other symbols of Judaism or the holiday. Kitty is apparently Sephardic in this little universe. ;)
2 Ha.
3 Okay, I'm a social sciences major y may math skills suck hard. This time is assuming it's one pm in Bayville and by Sunday, she means midnight.
4 Not like that! Perverts! ;) No, they just want privacy as the resident Passover celebrants...
5 I know we say that down here but I am not sure about other places. Just means you're pretty much alone with someone and planning some mischief...wink wink nudge nudge.