Pretending

The first thing he was aware of was pain. And lots of it.

The second was a comforting warmth surrounding him.

A soft groan escaped Kurt's lips as he finally came back from morphine- and pain-induced sleep. His eyes fluttered open before closing quickly-- the light overhead too bright for his eyes.

When his mind attempted to catch up with his body, he inwardly wondered where he was. Then everything came crashing back like a punch in the gut. He choked back a sob and shut his eyes tight, curling up. Which caused him to hiss in pain and his chest heave.

Scott had long ago fallen asleep in the chair beside Kurt's bed, how long he'd been sitting there he didn't know but he woke to pained little noises.

"Kurt, come on... You need to lie flat or it'll hurt worse," Scott said soothingly as he stood up, reaching out with gentle fingers to touch Kurt's shoulder, trying to coax him into lying back.

Kurt flinched away, staring at him with wide eyes-- or as wide as they could be with the glaring light. He shook and just curled up more instead, letting out a pained whimper.

"Kurt, please, it's me, Scott, I'm not going to hurt you," Scott said, looking over his shoulder and wondering where the hell Hank had got too. "It's alright," He said, removing his hand from Kurt's shoulder, holding them both up and stepping away slightly to show that he wasn't going to hurt the other boy. "Please, Kurt, lie flat, there's all sorts of things broke and bruised inside you, please," He said, keeping his voice soft and calm, a steady low tone.

He didn't move from his position, but you could tell he wasn't as panicked, eyes no longer as wide. He swallowed audibly, though it did nothing to help his dry throat. He tried to calm his breathing, his chest rattling dangerously with the effort. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a strangled sound came out.

"Hang on," Scott said softly, moving to the other side of the bed. He took a pitcher of water from the side and filled a cup, trying hard not to stare at Kurt. "Will... will you need help drinking it?" He asked softly, unsure if Kurt had the strength to do it alone.

Kurt's stomach churned uneasily, but his sore throat overrode it, staring at it eagerly. He slowly reached out a hand-- his good one, but not before he'd tried with his other when the cast stopped him-- taking the cup from him in shaking fingers. And it promptly dropped from his hand and bounded off the bed before smashing onto the floor.

Kurt just stared at it, his whole body starting to shake again. God, he couldn't even hold a cup...

"It's okay," Scott said as easily as if it happened every day, trying not to pay attention to Kurt shaking, telling himself that he'd clean the mess later. Crunching over the debris he poured another. "Now I'm gonna sit on the edge of the bed and help you drink this, okay?" He said, sitting down slowly, careful not to make any sharp moves. He was suddenly thankful that Kurt had been propped up with pillows. He didn't want to have to cause him any more distress by touching him.

"Here." He lifted the cup to the other boys lips. "Slowly or you'll be sick," He said softly.

Suppressing a sharp pang of shame, Kurt opened his mouth and quickly gulped down the water. It hit his stomach the wrong way, but he couldn’t help but drink more-- faster then he should-- at the feeling of its coolness against his throat.

"Whoa, whoa." Scott pulled the cup away, frowning a little before he cast around for a bowl just in case. He looked at Kurt, his expression softening. "I suppose it'd be dumb to ask how you're feeling?" He asked, feeling his stomach start to roll with suppressed guilt.

Kurt whined softly in disappointment but knew it was for the best. He slumped back against the pillows and attempted to smile at the other boy. "Do you... What happened?" he croaked out softly instead, pausing to will his throat better. "How..?"

A little light of relief lit in Scott as he caught Kurt's smile through the swelling and stitches before he lifted the cup once more, hearing how painful Kurts throat must be.

"Slower this time, you hear me?" He said, his voice gentle and stern at the same time. "We... sort of know what's happened. I think the Professor and Hank have more of an idea than they're letting on..." Scott frowned, sitting back, taking the cup with him. "You... you were attacked. Toad found you in the forest and brought you back," He said, hearing the wavering in his own tone. "Do... do you remember?" He added, praying that Kurt didn't.

Kurt opened his mouth to drink again, forcing himself to sip instead. He listened to Scott and stopped drinking. Quite a few emotions rushed through him; panic, relief, shock, shame and guilt for what had happened and what he'd thought those couple of time his rapist had taunted him. Slowly he nodded at his question, gaze fixed down at the bed and his lap, his good hand clutching weakly at the white sheets.

Scott reached out, wanting to take Kurt's hand in his own - and stopped himself just before he made contact, not wanting to frighten Kurt any more, resting his hand within Kurt's reach if he needed it.

"You don't have to tell me, Kurt but... but I think the Professor and Mr. McCoy will want to talk with you at some point," He said, lowering his head. "I'm so sorry Kurt," He whispered.

Kurt looked at his hand, eyes trailing up to the other's face. He felt guilty himself for making them all worried, but he knew it was silly. "How long?" he whispered, though not really sure he wanted to know. "How long was I gone? Out?"

"You've been out two days but you were... lost... for five," Scott said choosing his words carefully as he looked back up. "What with you not being at school before that, everyone thought you'd took off," He murmured. "Hell, even I thought..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say, wishing he could take the others pain away. "I thought you -"

He was interrupted as the door slammed open with a bang.

"Six o'clock, Summers! My turn for watch duty!" Toad said almost cheerfully as he looked down at the stack of comics he had in his hands. "So shift already, me and Kurt have got to chapter five of -" He froze as he looked up, seeing the both of them looking at him. "Er... So, you're awake," He said, inwardly hitting himself.

"Toad's been coming in to read to you for an hour the past couple of days," Scott explained. “Books called 'Spot the Dog', no doubt," He added sourly.

Kurt's head spun at the information. Seven days. One week. He fought the crazy urge to laugh-- it had felt like so much longer!

He jumped at the door opening and curled into himself and looked out with wide eyes. He relaxed only just slightly once it registered who it was. He stared at him, then looked back at Scott, not really listening to him. He knew he shouldn't care and even be grateful to Todd, but he wasn't sure if he was up to handling more than one person today. Not like it would matter really, once the staff of the institute found out he was awake.

Scott actually shared a worried glance with Toad at Kurt's reaction, wondering if the Toad boy had actually brought Kurt back straight away or...

"Do you want him to leave?" Scott asked quietly, standing up with an aura of menace towards Todd. The last thing he wanted was Nightcrawler to be any worse than he already was.

"Whoa, wait," Todd said, stepping forward, nearly tripping on his shoelaces before placing the comics on Kurt's bedside. "Er, good to see you awake," He mumbled awkwardly before turning to leave. "Um, guess I'll see you back at school... When you get back, I mean."

Kurt stared at the comics, guilt managing to rise again in his stomach. He turned sad eyes on Scott then Todd's back. "Wait," he croaked out as loud as he could, wincing as pain flared in his throat.

Scott looked down at Kurt in surprise before watching Toad carefully. Todd paused and turned to face him with a questioning expression.

"Yeah?" He asked, moving a little closer so Kurt wouldn't have to yell.

"Um, ah... T-thank you," he whispered. "F-for..." He trailed off, not really wanting to say it out loud.

"Yeah," Todd said quickly, blushing brightly before managing a grin, turning to face Kurt with his hands in his pockets. "Well, if I didn't rescue your ass who else would give me the kind of verbal that you do?" He asked, smiling tentatively.

The blue mutant managed a smile back and lightly shrugged. "I'm sure you could've found someone," he said before realizing how it sounded. He hadn't wanted to stay there!

"Nah," Todds smile fell away, "there ain't no one like you, fuzz butt. What's that freaky German word you always call me? Arkok? Ar... whatever, there ain't no one else who can say that," Todd said with a one shoulder shrug.

Scott tapped the bed lightly. "I'm going to find Mr. McCoy, I'll be five minutes tops... Are you gonna be alright?" He asked with a concerned frown.

Kurt actually chuckled softly at that, not bothering to correct him. But he made a mental note to himself that if he could get over all... this, and they were still on good terms, he'd try and teach the Toad German basics. Though, maybe not. That might ruin his fun in taunting the other mutant.

His mood deflated a little and he nodded. "I'm... home, aren't I? I'll be... I'll be okay," he said.

Scott smiled at him and nodded in understanding before moving towards the door. He grabbed hold of Todd's arm on the way past. "Hurt him and you won't see tomorrow, understood?" He murmured, just low enough that only Toad would hear.

Todd wrenched his arm free. "As if I would," He snapped back, moving over to the bedside chair as Scott left. "Geez... has he always been such an arkok?" He asked Kurt.

Kurt chuckled again but stopped when his chest started hurting from the movement. He smiled a little sadly and shook his head. "Arschloch," he quietly corrected.

"Dick," Todd said automatically before frowning. The last of his smile faded a little as he noticed Kurt wince with the pain, probably an automatic thing. "Is... is there anythin' I can do to help?" He asked quietly before half smiling, "and don't ever make me ask that again."

Kurt shook his head again. "Nein. And I won't-- your rep after all," he muttered and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired from the small bursts of pain everywhere.

"Hell, don't worry about my rep, I think I wrecked that by saving an X-Geek." He sighed mock dramatically before watching Kurt's eyes slide shut and promptly stopped talking. He watched the German breathing for a few minutes before reaching out to touch the back of his hand, lightly. "They say you're gonna be okay, right?" He whispered, just in case he was already asleep.

His hand automatically flinched but Kurt forced it to still, letting out a long sigh. "I... I don't know," he mumbled, barely audible. At the moment, he couldn't even remember not being in pain.

Todd drew his hand back as Kurt flinched, letting it fall into his lap.

"Well, you can still remember freaky German words so my guess is you're just fakin' it," He said, teasing but unsure what else to do. He knew the state Kurt was in when he found him and only needed to open his eyes to see how bad the German was now. "Where's that arkok, arsock, arlock... bastard Summers got to?" He mumbled before looking up. "Want I should leave, Wagner? You look fucked - tired!" He almost yelled the correction, "Tired; really... really tired."

Kurt swallowed thickly and opened his eyes, looking at Toad, fear in his eyes. "You know...?" he asked softly. Well of course he knew-- he had found him after all. But he'd been hoping only the Professor and Hank knew. He started to shake again.

"I can forget," He said, wincing at his own stupidity and closing his eyes. "I mean... It ain't like... I'm not gonna tell anyone," He mumbled, glaring at his shoes, "and I'm not gonna stop callin you names or anythin'," He glanced up, "...unless you want me too?"

Kurt really didn't hear him, still shaking. "I... I didn't... I couldn't... I-I..." he babbled, tears forming in his eyes again and he felt his stomach tightening.

"Shh, hey, hey." Toad stood up quickly, totally unsure of what he should be doing. "It's not your fault," He said softly, reaching over to the box of tissues left on the side just in case. He wanted to reach out and take hold of the other boy but he knew that would probably do more harm than good.

Kurt could feel cool bile rising in his throat and he pushed it back with a sob. He shut his eyes and tried to calm himself down again. Weak-- he was weak now. Had Sabretooth broken him?

He shuddered and clutched at himself with his good hand, nails digging into his bruised skin but he didn't notice.

Todd frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed, almost having to wrench Kurt's hand away from him; awkwardly adjusting three fingers for five to hold it. He used the tissue to carefully dab at the corners of Kurt's eyes.
"God... Wish I knew what to say," He muttered. What he wouldn't give to have Kurt blow up in his face, for them to fight, for Kurt to be the way he used to be.

Kurt opened his eyes and stared at their hands before looking up to his face, more tears coming. "I'm sorry," he whispered, awkwardly squeezing his hand.

"For gawds sake!" Todd said fiercely, his own throat tightening in sympathy. He shifted closer, letting go of Kurt's hand to carefully, gently lift him forward into a hug. Toad wasn't even aware of rocking him slightly. "It's not your fault, Fuz- Wa- Kurt." Todd frowned a little, unused to the name. "It ain't your fault, Kurt, and you've got nothin' to say sorry for," He said softly.

Kurt flinched but clutched at him before he could move away. He made a small noise in his throat but didn't say anything. He clung to the other, leaning his face against the boy's shoulder. He still shook but was calming down-- enough to wonder why Toad didn't smell as bad as normal.

"Hey, Kurt, sorry I was so long, I -" Scott ground to a halt as he walked in seeing the two together on the bed and had to fight back an irrational surge of jealousy and anger. "What the hell...?"

Toad’s eyes opened as a familiar voice spoke out behind him, his back tensing but he didn't let go, waiting for either Kurt to move first or someone to pull him away.

Kurt's hand twitched slightly and he lifted his head, looking over at Scott, also spotting the institute’s doctor-- who had a curious look in his eyes. He slowly let go of Todd, leaning back against the pillows again.

Hank moved forward, a very small smile on his face. "Hello, Kurt, we're all glad to have you back... But unfortunately, I have to look you over and ask some questions. Do you want...?" he asked the silent question and turned to the two other boys in the room when he nodded. "You'll have to leave now. I'll let you know when I'm done. And if you can come back in tonight."

Todd opened his mouth to protest but saw the exhaustion on Kurt's face at exactly the same time as Scott's hand landed on his shoulder.

"Right you are, Hank," Cyclops said with false cheer, his hand tightening on Todd’s shoulder until he squeaked. "I need to talk with Toad anyway," He murmured, shoving him out the door and following along behind.

Beast shook his head at the two before turning back to Kurt. "I know this sounds silly, but... I need you to tell me where you hurt."

Kurt just laughed and smiled tiredly. "Everywhere," he mumbled. "But, I, uh... my chest hurts and I don't think I can breathe right."

Hank frowned and nodded, moving closer to him. "Okay, I need you to tell me if this hurts... More than just a bruise, I mean," he said, carefully poking at his sides expertly.

Kurt sucked in a breath and grit his teeth to stop a cry after a couple pokes. He nodded and said in a strangled voice, "There."

Hank sighed. "Right. What I thought. You have some fractured ribs too..." He offered a smile and the boy’s downcast look. "You'll get better, Kurt. I promise. Now, let's clean you up again," he said before he moved away to gather supplies again.

Logan knocked on the door before putting his head around it, trying not to let a relieved smile on his face as he saw Kurt awake. God but the kid looked messed up.

"Hey, heard you'd finally dragged yourself into consciousness," He said quietly, walking into the room on silent feet.

Kurt looked up at the new voice and smiled a little, looking nervously at Logan and wondering how many more people he'd have to greet today. "Ja," he said softly, "I'm back in all my blue fuzziness."

"Well, almost all of it," Logan teased, meaning the few patches that the doctor had had to shave away. His lopsided smile fell away as he saw the hurt in the kid, not just in the tense lines of his body but in the darkness that lurked in Kurt's eyes. "How's it goin' Kid?" He asked in a low growl.

Kurt sighed, eyes dropping down. "O-okay, I guess," he said as Hank came back over and started to clean his cuts gently. Hank stayed silent, knowing better than to overwhelm the boy with questions, though his tongue buzzed with them.

Logan grunted, his gaze darting over to Hank questioningly before he threw himself into the chair beside the bed, feet up on the edge of Kurt's bed.

"Wanna tell me why Summers is bugging that Toad kid?" He asked curiously.

Kurt shrugged one shoulder. "Don't know... Maybe it's just that he's from the Brotherhood?" he suggested, not sure himself. Obviously he'd been shocked by what he saw when he came back in, but... why would Scott care?

"Didn't look just like a Brotherhood thing but..." Logan shrugged one shoulder lazily, the pretence of nonchalance breaking only as he looked at Hank. "Think he's ready?" He asked seriously.

Kurt looked at them, confused.

Hank smiled gently and finished cleaning him up. "Do you feel up to filling us in yet?" he asked, clarifying as he stood up and went to dispose of the water, soap and towel, coming back with a set of bandages.

Kurt's face fell and he looked down again. "I... I guess so. I mean, I'll have to sometime, right?" he said, sounding more certain than he felt. "Might as well just get it over with."

“Only tell us what you're comfortable with, kid," Logan said, his frown deepening as he tried to cover his concern. "We know the who, we just don't know anythin' else... Why you, kid?"

Kurt shook his head, but felt just a little relieved he didn't have to say his name. "I... I don't know. You probably know him better than anyone else, Logan. He..." He faultered, but forced on. "He said I annoyed him. But-- But not enough to d-die."

One of Logan's hands tightened on the arm of his chair. Yeah, that sounded like Sabretooth alright. "Where did it start?" He asked, if the bastard had managed to get onto the grounds... "And what were you doing in the forest in the first place? Weren't you supposed to be in school?"

The boy faultered and swallowed nervously. Shit. Would he have to reveal everything up until then? That seemed so long ago now... "I... I was having a hard day and skipped the rest of it. Wish I didn't now," he muttered. "I... I teleported to Gut Bomb and... I don't really remember. But he got me there."

Logan opened his mouth, an automatic reproval on the tip of his tongue but he re-thought that - the boy had learned his lesson.

"Gut Bomb," He murmured. "Weird for Sabretooth do something like that so close to the public." He snarled, the little hairs on the back of his neck rising in anger before he calmed himself. "What can you remember next?"

"Pain," he said quietly. "Noise and pain. He... I..." He swallowed again. "He raped me," he whispered in a strangled voice. "He tied me down and bit me. And raped me."

The chair creaked as Logan’s grip increased, the only sound a soft 'snikt' as his claws shot free. Minutes passed as Logan battled against rage and grief for the kid. Kurt didn’t need him flipping out right now.

"Toad said he found you out back. Can you remember if Toad brought you straight back?" He asked. After all, the kid was a member of the Brotherhood; god knew what they got up to.

Kurt shook his head, staring down at the bed sheets, not noticing until now that Hank had bandaged up his chest tightly to keep his ribs in place. "I don't remember. Everything seemed to go on forever. I don't even remember Todd being there. Just... him. And waking here," he said, not realizing he'd said Toad's real name instead of the mutant name.

Logan nodded. He hadn't smelled Toad on the boy. He glanced up at Hank.

"I think that's enough to be goin' on, Kurt, at least we've got a place to start." He looked back at the German. "There's only a handful of people who know; me, Hank, Ororo, Toad and The Professor. It'll stay that way unless you want it otherwise. Alright?"

Kurt nodded, his expression turning grateful as he looked back at them.

Hank smiled and picked up his supplies again. "You just rest now. I'll make you something light to eat. Are you... Are you up to other visitors? I'm sure everyone's eager to see you again."

Kurt smiled but shook his head this time. "Not today, please... I don't mind Todd, though. Or Scott," he added, surprised it was an afterthought.

Hank nodded. "Of course. Just rest and you'll have food in you soon enough." He got up and set his supplies down on a counter before heading out.

--

Toad walked down the hallways, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he headed towards the medi-bay. He was starting to get used to the route now and didn't need to ask for directions any more.

"Hey, fuzz butt, the doc said we could come back later - uh," He glanced at Logan who was still sat in the chair beside the bed, "want I should leave?" He asked, looking through the one eye that wasn't swollen shut.

Kurt looked over at the voice as it brought him back from his thoughts. His eyes widened a little. "Mein Gott," he mumbled. "What happened?" For a second he felt guilty for feeling glad that something had happened just to take his mind away from himself.

"Er," Toad just about stopped himself from reaching up to touch the bruise. "I walked into a door," He murmured, looking away, not sure how Kurt would react to the truth. Logan glanced between the two, his nose wrinkling at the Todd kid's scent.

"I gotta go find me a monster," He growled pushing himself out of the chair and patting Kurt's shoulder gingerly before heading towards the door.

Todd slipped into Logan's vacated seat, sitting cross legged. "So what did the doc say?" He asked curiously.

Kurt frowned and watched Logan leave before looking back at the other teen. He half shrugged-- just lifting one shoulder-- and sighed. "I have some broken ribs. But, really, I'm not surprised."

"Join the club." Toad smirked, settling down a little now that the Wolverine was gone. Not that he was frightened or anything. "So when are ya gonna stop being a wuss and drag your lazy ass back to school?" He asked, half insulting. Part of him - the tiny part that he was trying very hard to ignore - was hoping to get a rise from Kurt, something to let him know that the other boy was really okay and not... broken.

"I don't know," he said, resting his head on top of his good hand. "Right now, I... don't even want to deal with everyone. I don't want to deal with anything." He paused and smiled just a little, trying to show he was okay. "It'll have to wait at least until I can move my tail."

"Psh," Toad said with a flippant little gesture, his own smile echoing Kurt's, but a little wider. "Welcome to what the rest of us have to deal with, fuzz butt. Not all of us are so lucky as to get a tail." His smile faultered a little as he glanced at the aforementioned tail, wrapped in a cast and unmoving. "They're givin' you pain killers, yeah?" He asked, frowning a little.

Kurt nodded, shifting and moving back into the pillows to try and get more comfortable. "Yeah," he said as he finally thought he'd be as satisfied as could be. "But it only helps so much. I'm sure if I took enough to cover it all, I'd be out like a light.”

"Here," Toad stood up, reaching round to shift some of Kurt's pillows, able to see where they might be uncomfortable for the German. "Either out like a light or sky high," He smirked as he sat back down, drawing one knee up to his chin, wondering what a high Kurt would be like. "Has Summers been back?" He asked, forcing the irritation out of his voice.

"Thanks," he said, smiling lightly again. Again he wondered to himself why Toad was helping him and being nice-- but he wasn't going to mention it or complain, not wanting to drive off a new friend. Or at least what he hoped was a friend now.

He shook his head, expression turning curious. "No, he hasn't. Why?"

"Aaah, shut up," Toad drawled at the thanks, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly. "This is weird enough without you sayin' thanks on top of everythin else. You just gotta get better so I can kick your ass again," He half teased, realizing what he was doing with a jolt. "Just wondered if he had is all," He said breezily, "Seein how you two are, er, close."

Kurt laughed softly. "Because you so could before, Toad."

His smile turned a little bitter. "Yeah. We are, but... I just don't know what to think about it anymore." He hadn't even had a chance to think about it before-- before... He swallowed thickly, trying to push those thoughts away again.

"Finally you agree!" Toad reached over to poke Kurt but couldn't see a spare bit of skin that wasn't bruised so he had to settle for poking the bed viciously instead, grinning a little before he saw the turn of Kurt's smile. "It's okay," Toad said with a frown. "Yeah I know, me and Summers, er, talked," He said, looking away quickly.

The corners of Kurt's mouth turned down in a frown. "Is that...?" he asked vaguely, gesturing to his face and hoping he knew what he asked.

"Um," Todd looked at his shoes for a moment before looking up, "no?" He grinned widely after the blatant lie, ducking his head a little and barely resisting the urge to squirm.

He sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "Toad." Kurt opened his eyes again, staring at him. "Todd. What happened?" he asked, voice more insistent than before.

"Um. Um," Todd tried to think fast, trying to drag up a convincing lie but gave up with a shrug. He couldn't lie to someone who was lying beside him practically crippled. "We... He... I... Um... He was, er, kinda pissed when he walked in and saw us huggin'. Said I was takin' advantage and I, um, said he was, er, doin the same before - not that I am takin' advantage!" He added hastily.

"And then I told him he was an arkok for doin what he'd done and then he swung for me and, um, we fought and, er, yeah... I didn't hurt him or nothin'," He babbled defensively, fiddling with one of his shoelaces.

Kurt sighed again, it mixing with a soft groan. "That idiot," he mumbled, but his voice wasn't too hard. "I..." He frowned lightly. "Um... thanks for, ah... defending me, but... It was my choice to help him. He just... got carried away."

Caught between yelling at Kurt to stop saying thank you and sheer shock at what he said, Todd stared at him open mouthed for a moment. Realizing what he was doing, his jaw shut with a click.

"Are you always gonna do that?" He asked quietly, eyes narrowing almost thoughtfully. "Defend him, I mean, even when he's being an asshole?"

Kurt's eyes wavered and he glanced down, looking at the corner of the bed. "No. No, I don't always. We're always getting into small arguments, you know. Over..." He paused, but went on, figuring if Todd could do some confessing... "Over you guys. The Brotherhood. And other mutants and problems. But... He-- he always comes around and apologizes."

Todd shrugged one shoulder. "We're here to be a pain in the ass," He murmured, "but I wasn't talkin about that an' you know it. I meant," He took a breath, not sure if this was the right time but, damn it, he'd got a black eye over it and he wanted to know where Kurt stood. "I was talkin about you, him and a girl called Sandra," He clarified, trying not to think of the kiss.

"I know," he said softly. "But... It... He didn't even know what he was doing. A-and he did apologize for it." He trailed off and resisted the urge to bit his lip, knowing it would hurt if he did.

"Didn't know what he was doing? He -" Toad cut himself off aware of how loud and irritated his voice sounded, shaking his head before putting his hands on either side of it. "Why should I care?" He murmured to himself. "Geeze, what the X-Geeks get up to on their own time is their thing."

He looked up at Kurt. "Did you want him to apologize for it?" He asked, his curiosity forcing him to.

Kurt looked back up at the other hearing the muttering, then looked away again when their eyes met. "I... I don't know," he said, shoulders slumped back. "I don't want him kissing Sandra-- I want him kissing me."

Todd’s throat tightened for reasons that he wasn't quite ready to admit to himself and he cleared it. "Knew you were a fag," He teased, unsure of what else to say. "...Do you always pick the most impossible person to fall in love with or is this the first time?" He asked, laughing a little before his smile fell away. "Er, this probably aint the best thing to talk about, is it?"

He nodded a little. "Right. But, it-- it is a distraction," he said with a shrug. "So, um..." Kurt trailed off, not knowing what to switch the conversation over to.

"Um," Todd fiddled with his shoelace, wishing he hadn't spoken. "I still think he's a prat to do this to you," He blurted. "That's all I'm gonna say." He frowned, looking up, "You seen your sister yet?"

Kurt sighed but didn't lead the conversation on again. "No, not yet," he said, shaking his head. "Why? Have you talked with her?"

"Me? Talk to another X-Geek? What, do you want Lance to beat the shit outta me?" He asked with a snort. "Nah, just saw her round the school... I think you should see her as soon as you get the chance, fuzz butt. She looks like she needs to see you alive and breathin', you know?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, but frowned again. "Really? Rogue showing more emotion than disdain?" he asked, cracking a joke. "I guess I should see her today, too..." he muttered. He still didn't feel like seeing more people or being fussed over, but... if Rogue was giving herself problems over him...

Todd laughed softly, shaking his head. "Geez an' I thought that whole you're-scum-and-I'm-not thing of hers was just for show." He shrugged one shoulder, seeing how tired the other boy looked. "One more day ain't gonna hurt her. Everyone probably knows that you're back now anyhow, an' breathin'... Though they probably don't know you're just fakin'," He sniffed, looking away.

Kurt's frown turned to a small smile again. "I guess," he said, then laughed softly. "Hey, am I gonna have to owe you for the rest of my life now, or what?"

"Oh, you bet your ass you do," Todd said, grinning smugly as he stretched out, hands behind his head and feet up on the very edge of Kurt's bed, ankles crossed. "Don't think I ain't dreamin' up a list of chores and shit for you to do once you get bored of this." He waved a hand taking in the medical bay.

"Hey-- if you can find a way for me to be all healed tomorrow, I'll clean your whole house for a year," Kurt said as he settled back again, closing his eyes.

Todd just made a confirming sound, watching the other mutant in silence as he started drifting off.