Forever

 

CHAPTER NINE—FOREVER (NC-17)

 

 

A/N Just to make sure every one knows (and because I haven’t
said it since the first chapter), nothing that you recognize in here belongs to
me. There. That should cover my ass….
Millions uckeuckets of thanks go to Internutter and Foxfeather for
helping me out with translations and formatting and as well as all their
feedback!

 

 

 



“Your feet
bothering you?” Kitty switched her
books to her other hip, eying Kurt with concern. She noticed the night before that he had been limping when he
came out to the boathouse and now he was almost dragging his foot behind him.

“Ja, a
little. Verdammt shoes…” Kurt sank down onto a bench outside the
school and Kitty joined him. Amara wordlessly wedged herself between the
two—she had not let Kitty out of her sight all day. Each casual touch, each
heated glance brought her ire down on their heads. Kitty had more pinch marks than she cared to count and she was
sure that Kurt’s fur and holo hid just as many, if not more.

Kitty cut an angry glare at Amara
and leaned forward to pat Kurt’s knee.
“My poor baby. All that running
in P.E. probably didn’t help!” The new
coach would not accept the standard excuse of Kurt’s inability to participate in
running exercises because the “deformity” that affected his hands also affected
his feet, so Kurt had to wear his special shoes, designed to accommodate three
toes and a very high arch, during hard runs. So far, he had been able to escape contact sports by producing a
note from “Dr. Xavier” claiming that Kurt Wagner was the carrier of a highly
contagious but very rare (unheard of, really) skin ailment found only in parts
of Europe. Spared from football[1],
volleyball, baseball and anything that might put him in skin-to-skin contact
with anyone else in class, Kurt bore the brunt of the coach’s annoyance by
being made to run. And run, and run and
run. “Want me to rub your feet?” Kitty elbowed Amara, trying to make her move
back out of her reach.

“Maybe
later, Katzchen. I think Amara is all
pinched out for today.” Kurt rubbed his
upper arm surreptitiously, indicating to Kitty that he was too sore to put up
with any more of their baby sitter’s pinching.
“Where is Evan?” Hell of a
chaperone. He’s never around. Best kind, I think.

“Skating. Shirking his duties and skating.” Amara sniffed furiously and eyed Kitty’s
hand on Kurt’s knee. “Remove your hand
from his person, Kitty. I am not going
to let molestations occur under my supervision.” Kitty slid her hand off of Kurt’s leg, slipping in a squeeze as
she did so. Amara rolled her eyes and turned to look out over the courtyard,
waiting for Scott to come back from meeting with his chemistry teacher so they
could all head home. Lance caught her
eye and made the international “Call me” gesture—thumb to his ear and pinky
near his mouth. Amara nodded, then
swung her gaze to the couple on either side of her. They were so engrossed in making eyes at each other that Amara’s
wordless exchange with Lance had gone unnoticed. Good. They had better
get all this out of their systems. Once
balance is restored to the universe, this will all be a faint dream in their
minds… Scott finally appeared from
one of the doors leading off the courtyard into the interior of the school and
Amara’s heart skipped several beats.
His hair was messy, as if he had been running his hands through it, and
his scowl was the sexiest thing Amara had seen in days. “Get up you two. Time to go.” Kitty nearly
fell over backwards when Amara stood, swinging her backpack over one shoulder
and marching towards Scott, fixing her brightest smile on her face. Behind her, Kurt and Kitty could only stare
in amazement as the usually snotty girl simpered and preened for Scott. She was walking sideways, trying to see
where she was going and keep up with him at the same time, giving the
impression of a puppy begging for scraps.

Scott,
looking very uncomfortable with Amara’s uncharacteristic prattling, raised his
eyebrows at Kurt in some unspoken male communication. Kurt, in turn, nodded quickly and glanced at Kitty from the
corner of his eyes. He raised his
eyebrows at Scott and then looked at Amara, making Scott cringe slightly. The Nova Roman was still talking, oblivious
to this conversation of expressions.
Kitty was busily trying to decipher just what was being said when Scott
said the words that brightened her day.
“You know, I really should wait for Jean. Why doesn’t Kitty drive Kurt home and Amara can ride with Rogue
and Rahne.” The two mutants in question
were making their way through the few remaining students in the courtyard and
Scott waved them over.

“I don’t
think that’s such a good idea…” Amara’s cheerful façade slipped a fraction.

“You know
how small that car is and if Kurt’s foot is bothering him,” even Scott had
noticed the limping, “I don’t want to make him wait around for Jean to decide
she’s ready to go. Kurt can prop his
foot up in the back seat and Kitty can put their bags in the passenger
seat.” Scott spoke in tones that would
brook no argument. “Here ya go. Just don’t scratch her up, okay?” His voice was jovial now but the plea was
serious. The little red car was his
pride and joy and, despite his promise to help Kurt and Kitty see each other as
much as possible, he was scared to let them take his convertible.

“Kitty
can’t drive! I’ll take Kurt home and
she can go with Rogue and Rahne.” Amara
grabbed for the keys only to have Scott raise them just out of her reach. Rogue and Rahne were almost on them and he
wanted Kurt and Kitty to get going. The
two girls had made no such promise to help the two get together.

“Let it go,
Amara!” Scott tossed the keys to Kurt,
standing a few feet away.

“Danke,
mein freund. After you, milady.” He bowed as well as he could, leaning on one
foot.

“I don’t
think so. Lean on me.” She took as much of his weight as he would
allow and they begin walking relatively quickly to the car.

“Hey! Where’re they going off to?” Rogue crossed her arms over her chest and
glared out at the couple.

“Home.” Well, eventually… Scott knew that if
he had Jean alone with him and she was as willing as he was, the Institute was
the last place he’d want to go with a few minutes alone.

“Hmmm. Well, I guess that leaves us with you and
Amara to cram into the jeep.” Amara was
silently seething and she practically growled at Rogue now. “Or you can run along side. Either way.”

“Actually,
Rogue, I’m going to wait for Jean.
We’ll walk back. Have you seen
her, by the bye?” Scott hoped he did
not look too eager.

“She was
talking to what’s-her-face, the soccer coach.
Looked like she’s going to be a while.
They had diagrams out and everything.”
Rahne looked bored with everything.
“Let’s get shaking, guys, I need a nap.” Rogue and Rahne led off a protesting Amara as the little red car
zoomed by Scott, Kurt behind the wheel.


“Hey! I said Kitty should drive!” His words were swallowed by the sound of the
engine. Amara stuck her tongue out in a
childish gesture and allowed the other girls to drag her off without protest
now. Scott sighed and started walking
towards the gym and the coach’s offices.
Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a long day?

 

The trees
whipped by Kitty as she eyed the speedometer warily. “Don’t you think you should, like, slow down a little?” Kurt had insisted on driving and was
apparently loving every minute of it.
Using his tail to manipulate the gearshift, he was speeding them down
the road towards the Institute at an alarming rate.

“Nein! This is as close to flying as I’m going to
get and I intend to enjoy it!” He let
out a whoop and picked up more speed.

“Ask Jean
to take you for a spin! I just don’t
want my chance at flying to be through the windshield!” Kitty slid down as low as her seatbelt would
allow and covered her eyes. Can the
dead say Kaddish[2] for
themselves? She let out an
involuntary whimper as Kurt swung around a curve.

“Katzchen! It’s okay—I’m not going to let you get
hurt!” Kurt did slow down, though,
finally going the speed limit. He
reached over and touched Kitty’s shoulder gently, hoping that she was not
crying. “Katzchen?”

“I am g
tg
to slap you silly if you ever go that fast again. And don’t think I won’t find out if you’ve been speeding because
I’ll know mister!” Kitty pulled
herself up straight and was turning the full force of her glower on Kurt.

I must
have really scared her! “Ja,
Kitty. I promise I will go slow.” Kurt sighed. Henpecked at seventeen.
Could be worse. She could be
Amara. They had reached the gates
of the mansion and stopped, each not wanting to go inside and face the
adults. They wanted to seize the chance
to be alone but did not want to run the risk of getting caught if they decided
to make use of one of the little parks dotting the roadside around the
mansion. Making an executive decision,
Kurt backed away from the gate and swung into one of the parks, putting the car
as far as possible from the road, in the last spot under an ancient oak.

“And just
what do you think you’re d?” ?”
Kitty’s tone was laced with laughter, her hands sliding over to
Kurt’s.

“Vas? Can’t a guy park with his girl and not have
anything sexual happen?”

Kitty
appeared to think it over. “Okay. Sure.
And you did say you’d go slow…” She shifted back over to her side of the
car, folding her hands primly in her lap.

“That is so
not funny!” Kurt lurched across the
seats, caught by the seatbelt. After
some muttered cursing in German, he finally got free and took Kitty’s face in
his hands. “You know we can’t…um…make
love…without getting caught. Herr Logan
will know.” His fingers flexed against
her skin, itching to touch her intimately.


Kitty,
still giggling from the seatbelt incident, sobered at his reminder. “You know, there’s more to us than
sex.”

“I
know. But you know it’s hard—I mean,
difficult, to be so near someone that I have wanted to be with for so long…” He
trailed off in a sigh.

“I know,
baby. It’s hard for me, too.” She put
her head on his shoulder and scooted closer, wrapping her arms around his
waist. “But just think about it this
way. The longer we wait, the better it
will be when we’re finally allowed to be together.[3]” She nipped at his chin and he smiled and
pressed his lips to hers in return.

“Okay. Just don’t expect me to be able to keep my
hands off you entirely…”

“Ditto!” In
unspoken agreement, Kurt started the car again and headed back towards the
mansion. It was just their luck that
Logan, Storm and Hank were on the porch, apparently in deep conversation. When they noticed the teenagers pull up
behind the jeep, all talking ceased.

“Where have
you been?” Logan came towards them,
sniffing deeply.

“We were
talking.” Kurt moved defensively in
front of Kitty, as if he alone could stop Logan should the older man get
angry.

After a few
more sniffs, Logan seemed satisfied.
“Just don’t go off alone like that again, right? Don’t want to give us a reason to get
suspicious…” The threat of harsher supervision remained unspoken but known tol inl in the driveway. “Half-Pint, it’s
your turn to cook dinner tonight. I’d
get in there and get started if I were you.
It’s after four now and dinner is at six, remember?” Kitty nodded and scooted away with one last
look at Kurt. Storm followed her into
the house with an expression so sad that it made Logan’s heart ache to see
it. We’ll have to tell Half Pint
later. “Kurt, we’re going to need
your help moving some things.” Hank had joined Logan on the tarmac of the
driveway and also bore a sad statement on his face.

What’s
going on here? It’s something about
Kitty, I know it… “Sure, Herr Logan.
Let me put my things up and I’ll meet you…?”

“Sublevel
one.” A curt nod dismissed the teenager
and the older men headed towards the garage.
Kurt touched his holo, ending the illusion of a “normal” teenage boy and
headed into the house, shucking off shoes and socks as he went. Passing the kitchen, he smiled at the
picture of domesticity Kitty presented, bent over a bowl and cookbook, her hair
twisted on top of her head and held in place by what appeared to be a
chopstick. I wonder if she’ll look
like that in twenty years, in our kitchen…
Kurt limped on, shaking his head in wonderment of the possibilities that
this relationship presented. He had
never been surer of anything in his life; Kitty was not only his best friend
but now she was his lover, a word he was just getting used to using and being. Dropping both is and Kitty’s book bags off
in his room, Kurt changed out of his school clothes and into his old, worn
jeans riddled with holes and a t-shirt that had seen better days. His reflection caught his eye as he left the
room and he paused, hands spread, to take in what Kitty saw everyday. Blue fur, blue hair, tail, yellow eyes,
fangs, weird hands and feet. I don’t
think I’ll ever understand or quite believe that she finds me at all
attractive. Depressing himself,
Kurt turned his back on his mirror-self and headed for the first sublevel of
the basement.

 

“Fold
in…how do I fold flour?” Kitty stared
at the cookbook with consternation.
“This is stupid. I should make
something I know. Something I have the
ingredients for…” She threw her spoon down and glared at the clock. An hour and
a half until dinner was expected to be on the table and all she had was a
floury mess in a bowl and a stack of dirty measuring cups. “Damn it.”
She slammed the book shut and was about to just phone for a pizza when
an idea wormed its way to the forefront of her brain. “Oh, I am good…” Hurriedly, she cleaned up the mess she
had made and started grabbing ingredients from the pantry and
refrigerator. The Professor is
always saying that we need to expand our horizons. Well, theirs are about to get the heck expanded out of ‘em!”

Storm was lurking outside the
kitchen door, listening to Kitty’s muttered ramblings about filling and dough
when Logan came lumbering down the hall, stinking of sweat from exertions in
the basement. ”Tell her yet?” Storm shook her head mutely at his
question. “Guess it’s gonna have to be
me, isn’t it?” Logan stuck his head
around the corner and eyed the proceedings with ill-disguised interest. “What’s she cooking?”

“I’m not sure…whatever it is makes
quite a mess, though.” More flour
dusted the counters and sink, eggshells were lined up neatly on the drain board
and it looked as if Kitty had used every spoon in the kitchen to stir whatever
was in the bowl.

“Hmmm. Better tell her now, before she’s surprised during dinner.” Ignoring Storm’s restraining hand, Logan
stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat.

“I could smell you out in the hall,
Logan!” Kitty did not even look up from
what she was doing. “You’re, like,
gonna shower before dinner, right?”

“Half-pint, we need to talk,” Logan’s
voice came out as a sigh. Kitty finally
looked at him and was surprised by the look on his face.

“You look like someone stole your
last cigar. What’s wrong?” Pouring the mixture into a baking dish and
shoving it into the hot oven, Kitty dusted her hands on her apron and slid into
a chair opposite Logan.

“This is hard for me to say, but
you need to understand what’s going to go on tonight and tomorrow, okay?” Fear was sending little tendrils up Kitty’s
spine and Logan could smell the coppery odor coming off of her in waves. She nodded, making a gurgling noise in her
throat that may have been an affirmative.
“Your parents aren’t coming down on Saturday.”

“That’s it?” Whew!
That’s a relief…

“Kitty, they’re coming in tonight and
bringing a lawyer with them.” Quick
like a bandage, Kid. Fast and painful. Kitty’s
jaw worked, words forming but never being spoken. “They want to, um, to…give custody over to the us. Fully.”


“Disown me? THEY WANT TO DISOWN ME?” Kitty stood, her chair falling back and
clattering to the floor. Her breaths
were coming in short, sharp gasps now and the room was swimming around
her. She saw Logan push himself to his
feet and was dimly aware of Storm running into the room, of the two of them
supporting her under the elbows.

“Breathe
into this, Kitty.” Storm shoved a paper
bag in front of the girl, forcing her to breathe in and out slowly. Kitty pushed away from her guardians and
retched into the sink.

“They…my
own parents…I knew that…” Kitty seemed
to be dissociating from the room, sinking into her own head and blotting out
reality.

“Logan! What did you say to her?” Storm was
supporting Kitty again, trying to keep the girl on her feet.

“You heard
what I said! I never outright said
disown… I was trying to make it sound
not so bad.” Logan grasped Kitty around
the waist and shifted her weight into his arms, carrying her like a baby. Kitty’s eyes were open but she was looking
at something that was not there, staring at events long passed. “I’m gonna put her to bed. Make sure her dinner doesn’t burn,
okay? I know it’d upset her…” Storm
nodded, tears standing in her eyes, and Logan carried Kitty gently from the
room. If I can just make it without
Elf Boy showing up, we’re golden.
Kurt would have to be told, but the last thing Logan wanted was an
overreacting mutant on his hands.
Taking a deep sniff at the landing, he detected no trace of sulphur or Kurt’s
normal scent that would indicate he had been there recently so Logan quietly
took Kitty down the hall to her room.
She had finally closed her eyes and was twitching slightly, as if
dreaming, but Logan knew she was not asleep.
Jiggling the doorknob with one hand while holding Kitty with the other,
Logan finally got her in and was laying her on the bed when she opened her eyes
and looked squarely at him. “Hey, Half
Pint. Just rest for now, okay? It’s been a shock…” His words sounded
inadequate in his own ears.

“I knew
they hated me, but I never thought they’d get rid of me.” Kitty’s voice was small, even to Logan’s
supersensitive ears. “My roots are
gone.” Logan’s heart broke into a million pieces and lay at Kitty’s feet.

“No,
kid. Your roots are here now. We’ll take care of you.” He smoothed a hand over her brow and noticed
she was drifting off into sleep. I’m
going to kill them. The mom, the dad,
and the lawyer…I’ll give Kitty their heads as presents. He met Hank at the door; the doctor was
carrying his medical bag and wearing a lab coat, a sign that he meant business. “Half Pint’s dozed off.”

“Sometimes
the human body can’t handle stress and will shut itself down to deal with
it. I think I can give her something to
help her sleep. What time are her
parents—and I use the term loosely—going to be here?” Hank muscled past Logan and was filling a syringe with a clear
fluid.

‘The letter
didn’t say. Just ‘Here’s her stuff and
we’ll be here tonight to cut all ties,’ sort of…” The actual language of the
letter had been hateful and full of prejudice against Kitty, against mutants,
and against Kurt, whom they had not even met.
Hank nodded in understanding, slipping the needle into Kitty’s vein with
a sympathetic wince and patting her on the arm.

“She should
sleep a few hours with this. We should
be able to rouse her around…seven?”
Logan murmured noncommittally and led the way out, down the stairs to
give some excuse for Kitty’s absence from dinner.

 

“What did
you say this was called?”

“I
didn’t. I think they’re tzimmies,
though. At least that’s what they look
like.” Rogue eyed the cookbook on the
counter with some degree of suspicion.
“Maybe they’re just…blobs.”
Kitty’s dinner was rescued before everything burned and, much to the
delight of all assembled, was edible.
Not only edible, but fairly good.
Lacking meat, it was food her grandmother had taught her to cook: tzimmies,[4]
a vegetable casserole that was more than enough to feed the residents of the
Institute, and she had thrown in a pack of dinner rolls for good measure. Rogue and Jean were conscripted to complete
the dinner preparations when Kitty became suddenly “ill,” having to go lay down
and rest for a while.

Kurt ate hungrily but kept glancing
around the table and towards the dining room door as if expecting Kitty to
appear at any moment. Shoveling another
forkful of the casserole into his mouth, he noted Logan looking more reserved
than usual, shooting covert looks to Storm and Hank. They wouldn’t tell me what was in those boxes earlier and now
Kitty is missing from dinner… Mein
Gott! Is she moving back to
Chicago? Did her parents send for
her? Nein! They wouldn’t do that…would
they? Kurt had not realized that he
had stopped chewing and was sitting, eyes glazed over and mouth open, staring
at Amara.

“That is the most disgusting thing
I have seen all day.” Amara rose
slowly, patted her mouth with her napkin and announced, “I’m finished. I am going to my room to finish homework. Good night.” She put her plates in the sink on the way out of the room,
ignoring the multitudes of eyes on her.
Lance had better be there…
As per their phone conversation earlier, Amara had agreed to meet Lance
at the gates again to pick up a package.
I hope it’s nothing illegal… I’m not going to jail for his sorry ass. On her way up the stairs, she passed Scott
and could not help the sudden weakness in her knees. Now that someone else knew her secret, it seemed that her
feelings for him were magnified.

“Whoa! Watch that step, Amara.” Scott placed a steadying hand on her
back and gave her a reassuring smile before hurrying down to the dining room to
catch the last of dinner.

“Oh, yeah. It’s worth it.” Amara practically skipped up the stairs to her room, images of
Scott dancing in her head.

 

“Kurt, man, shut your mouth!” Scott was one of the last ones in the dining
room and Kurt still had not shut his mouth.
Rahne, Rogue and Jean had since left the table and Jamie was ignoring
the agog mutant, so busy was he finishing his own dinner.

“Scott!” Kurt’s eyes snapped to life and he swallowed what was in his
mouth, washing it down with the last of his iced tea. “I think Kitty is being sent to Chicago!” He quickly told Scott about helping Beast
and Logan move things into the first sublevel of the basements and of Kitty’s
mysterious absence from dinner. “So I
think that her parents are coming down for her Saturday and that was all of her
stuff!” Kurt was now pacing around the
table, his tail narrowly missing glasses and Scott’s head.

“Slow down, Kurt.” Shoving his cold dinner to the side, Scott
grabbed Kurt by the shoulders and physically blocked his progress. “If she were moving, none of her stuff would
be left in her room, right? Now how
many boxes do you think that would be?”
Scott could see Kurt doing the math, breaking down Kitty’s clothes, her
knickknacks and the few items that were not property of the Institute down into
moving boxes.

“I don’t know—ten?”

“Maybe. Maybe not even that many.
I don’t think Kitty is moving out.
Besides, if she were, she would have told you first, right?” Kurt nodded and Scott clapped him on the
shoulder. “C’mon. We’ll go up and check on her and you can
tell me how the ride home went.”

“A gentleman never tells!” Kurt was feeling a little better and elbowed
Scott in the ribs as he passed him.

“Who said you were a gentleman?”

“Honestly, nothing happened. We just talked.” They were gaining the top of the stairs now and Kurt did not want
to be overheard by anyone who might be coming and going from their rooms,
especially Kitty.

“Just talked? Dude, if I had someone alone in the
car, I could never just talk.”
Scott’s hands actually ached at the thought of touching Jean, no matter
how innocently.

“That’s all we did, Scott. Not that I didn’t want to do more, but it’s
a matter of self preservation.” They
had reached Kitty’s door and Kurt knocked gently, calling for her. After a minute with no answer, he tried
again. Still nothing.

“Maybe you should ‘port in?” Scott was not worried per se but it was
unlike Kitty to ignore someone at the door.


Remembering the last time he had
arrived unannounced, Kurt nodded and covered his eyes before putting himself
into the room. Risking a peek, he saw
the room was cloaked in darkness. No music, no incense, no noise…wait…she’s
snoring! Kitty’s napping! Kurt approached the bed slowly, trying
to make as little noise as possible, and what he saw broke his heart. Kitty was twisted in her sheets, still
clothed all the way down to the shoes. Her
face was red and tear-streaked and her nose was still running as the result of
a good, hard cry. “Oh, Katzchen. What’s wrong? You can tell me…”
Forgetting about Scott, Kurt eased himself into the bed next to Kitty
and wrapped his arms around her; she murmured in her sleep and rolled towards
his chest, snuggling against him and clutching convulsively at his fur. “Shhhh.
I’m here.” Something bad…

“Kurt. They’re leaving me…” Kitty seemed to be mostly asleep, not fully
aware of what she was saying.

“Who’s leaving you, Mein
Engel?” Softly, Kurt pressed his lips
to her hair and smoothed some errant strands away from her face.

“My parents. They’re disowning me.” Her voice was still soft and sleepy but her
body had tensed.

“Vas?” Kurt’s heart dropped to his stomach. Disowning her, their own flesh and blood! What kind of monsters are these people? Kitty was coming fully awake now and was
pulling Kurt as close to her as possible.
“It’s okay, Katzchen. I’m here. I’ll stand with you.” Kitty nodded miserably, temporarily unable
to speak.

“Guys?” Scott pounded on the door. “Company!”
He had been standing in the hall, waiting for some sign of life from
within, when Storm let a group of three people in at the front door. He could hear Kitty’s name mentioned several
times and knew his friends were about to get into a world of trouble unless
things were put to rights immediately.
A slightly ruffled Kurt opened the door and motioned Scott to move a
little ways down the hall. “What’s
going on?”

“Big trouble in Bayville,
brother.” Kitty was emerging from the
room, looking as if she had been rode hard and put up wet.[5] Her eyes were puffy and her hair was falling
from its topknot. She paid no attention
to either teenager and stumbled towards the stairs. She could hear the voices as well as they could, raised now in
anger.

“Where?” She pointed down the stairs, unable to form coherent speech.

“I think Storm took them into the
library.” Scott was fairly certain
that’s where the voices were coming from. Kitty nodded and phased herself
through the floor, ending up in the telephone room. Scott turned wary eyes to Kurt and raised his eyebrows in an
unasked question.

“I can’t say. She’ll have to tell you herself.” Kurt smiled grimly and went to meet Kitty
downstairs.

“Problems abound at Mutant
High.” Jean’s voice startled Scott, so
quiet was she exiting her room.

“Oh. Hey.” I can’t even look at her without wanting to do something
insane, like kiss her senseless…

“Look, Scott, we need to
talk.” Jean stopjustjust out of his
arm’s reach.

“You need to talk. I’ve said all I need to say.” Way to be mature, man!

“Don’t make this hard for me. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,
especially since I talked to Kitty and Amara…”

“You told them about
December?” Scott was suddenly both emasseassed and angry. Angry won out. “How the hell could you do that?”

“I didn’t say a word about
December! Calm down!” Jean crossed her fingers at her slight
deception. Scott let out a harsh breath
and motioned for her to talk. “The
thing is, I’m scared. I’m scared of
what I feel, I’m scared of what you feel, of what we did…” Jean sank to the floor, seeming to fold in
on herself.

“How do you feel, Jean?”
Scott fought the urge to join her on the floor, opting to stand and appear
aloof.

“I feel too young.
I feel like any decision I make now I may regret later. I feel like I want to listen to my heart but
I don’t know how. I’ve listened to my
brain for so long, Scott. You have no
idea what it’s like to have to be aware of everything you think, every moment
of the day. Listening to your heart
gets you in trouble when you can hear everyone around you, you know.”

She seemed less like herself, more
like a scared little girl now. Scott
finally gave in and sank to his knees next to her. “I can’t say I know how you feel because I don’t. But,” he tentatively reached out and stroked
her shining hair, “I can say that I know how I feel. I love you—don’t tense up like that!—and all
I want to do is be with you. We had
made love once, Jean, and I can live off of that for as long as I need to, but
what I can’t live with is you rejecting me out of hand because I’m not some
safe, “normal” guy that makes you feel like you’re not a mutant. We’re mutants, Jean, and I can understand
pain and rejection and fear because of being different. What you need to understand, though, is that
there is someone right here, right now, who can say without a shadow of a doubt
that they will always understand that you are afraid, that will always
understand that you want to hate yourself some days and that will love you, even
on days when you hate them.” Scott
rocked back on his heels, a little astounded at his eloquence. I think I’m watching too many of
Jubilee’s chick flicks. Jean,
however, appeared to be stunned. She
turned her now-tear streaked face to Scott and surprised him by throwing her
arms around his neck.

“I’m not ready to tell you I love
you yet, Scott, but I want to be friends again.” She felt how inadequate that sounded. Pulling away just slightly, she looked him in the eyes and spoke
in low, pacific tones. “Scott, you mean so much more to me than just friends
but I’m not ready to be your girlfriend yet.
Hell, I’m don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend right now. What I do want is for you to know that, what
I feel for you, is so much more than simple friendship and I just need some
time to be myself for a while, okay?”
Scott nodded, rays of hope glimmering in his romantic soul. “Good.”
She sniffed and ran the back of her hand over her eyes. “I’m starving. Let’s get some ice cream and discuss that theory of yours.”

“Which one would that be?” Scott’s head was spinning at her sudden
change in moods. He knew better than to
think that she was cheerful now. He
knew that she was putting on a mask to hide the confusion and, as much as he
hated that she did that, he let it slide for now.

“The one about guys doing crazy
stuff to get a girl’s attention.” They
helped each other to their feet and moved off down the stairs, hand in hand and
each pretending not to notice that the other had not yet let go.

 

Kurt found Kitty pacing outside the
library, the sound of irate voices ebbing and flowing behind closed doors and
washing over the girl. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. The Professor knows I’m out here,” she tapped
her forehead to indicate the form of contact, “but they haven’t called me in
yet.” Kurt nodded and motioned for her
to sit down next to him on the floor.
“I can’t! I’m too nervous.” She paced some more before eying his placid
expression. “Why are you here anyway?
How do you know what’s going on?”

“Um, you told me?” Kurt related checking up on her and her
half-sleeping admissions. “Sorry for
eavesdropping.” He dropped his eyes, feeling
too guilty to meet her gaze.

“It’s okay. I would have told you if Doctor McCoy hadn’t
given me that shot…” The creak of the
door opening made them both jump. Logan
glared at whoever was behind him before facing Kitty. “Is it time?”

“Yeah, Half-Pint. C’mon in.”
Kurt stood, catching the older man’s eye. “You, too, Kid.”

Kitty reached shakily for Kurt’s
hand and followed Logan into the room.
Two men and a woman stood, flanked by the Professor and Storm. Hank was nowhere to be seen and Kurt guessed
that maybe he had decided to spare the visitors a visual shock on top of
everything else. “Mother. Father.
Mister Trotter.” Kitty had a
brave face on, nodding to each adult in turn.
The Professor raised one eyebrow and rolled back just slightly. Storm followed his lead and moved away from
the new faces, giving the psychological impression of privacy. “To what do I owe the honor of this early
visit?” Kitty’s hand was shaking in
Kurt’s; he marveled at her calm voice.

“Is this that…thing…you’ve
been whoring around with?” The woman’s voice
cut like a knife through sinew. Logan
growled and moved forward but was stopped by a sharp look form Storm.

“This is Kurt. I love him, like Yaya loved Zedye. I love him in a way that you could never
understand. And he is no more a thing
than I am.” Kitty had come out with
both guns blazing. What have I got
to lose?

“You are an aberration of nature, a
punishment for my sins!” Mrs. Pryde was
growing more and more agitated now, her face bearing great splotches of
red. Mr. Pryde laid a hand on her
silk-clad arm, a calming gesture that seemed to work. “You are a blot on this family, Katherine.” She caught sight of Kitty’s necklace and its
Star of David pendant. “Still flaunting
it, I see?” A red manicured nail
reached out and flicked the Star, causing Kitty to flinch away.

“Yes, Golda Prydakos[6],
I am.” Kitty stood straighter now, pulling her hand from Kurt’s grasp and
stepping towards her parents. “I know
what you’re here for. Just get it over
with.”

“You dare use that name!” All color drained from the woman’s face and
Kurt had the momentary fear that she would faint.
“Yes, Mother, I
do. It is your name, just like my
father’s name is Mordechai Prydakos, and I am Aikaterine Prydakos!” Kitty was livid now. “You are always ashamed of being Jewish,
aren’t you? It means that we’re
different, we’re not like the Collins who have Christmas parties, we’re not
like the Stephens who go out Friday nights.
Religion is a pain in your ass, isn’t it? You go through the motions just to appease a dead mother and
leave me to pick up the pieces!” Mrs.
Pryde’s hand moved so fast the Kitty did not see it coming. She sprawled back into Kurt’s chest and took
one deep, sobbing breath before wheeling on her father. “And you!
Moping after Elaine! I will
never be your daughter because I’m not her daughter, am I?”

“Shut your mouth, Katherine. After tonight we’ll be done with each other
and you can stay here and whore around with that dog boy all you want!”

“His name is Kurt and I love
him.” Kitty bit these words out as if
they were a mantra forced upon her, her only lifeline. “I love him and you disowning me will only
free me to be with him.”

“Little girl, I don’t give a
fuck.” Mr. Pryde snapped his fingers
and Mr. Trotter moved forward, slapping a thick sheaf of papers onto the
desk.

“Sign these, please.” Logan and the Professor exchanged glances—which
one of us?

“Explain this to me again,
bub.” Logan held the pen in his hand,
oblivious to Kitty’s sobs into Kurt’s fur.
Her parents were speaking in low, furious tones, motioning to each other
and then Kitty.

“Disowning is not the proper term
for this, legally. What is going to
happen is that legal guardianship of Katherine will be passed to the signer of
these documents as will power of attorney over the girl and all the other legal
rights and responsibilities that come with custodianship of a child.”

“So, effectively, whoever signs
this is adopting Kitty?” Storm’s
murmur seemed to break Logan out of his trance and he snapped the cap off the
pen, signing hurriedly. The paperwork
actually took several minutes but the entire time, no one in the room seemed to
breathe.

“So we’re done here? I have a flight to catch to New Orleans in
about two hours and I’d really like to get going.” Mr.Pryde looked at his watch and yawned. Receiving no answer, Mr. Pryde took his wife
by the elbow and started to leave the room but stopped as he passed a visibly
shaken Kitty. “You are dead to us
now. No one in the family will
recognize your existence. You’ve been
entered into the family records as such.”
With that parting shot, they swept from the room.

Kitty stood stock still for several
moments before letting out a long, shuddering breath. “Kurt, take me to my room.”
She leaned against him and for once, none of the adults had a
comment. Within seconds, the smell of
sulphur was the only sign that either teenager had been there.

“That was…disturbing.” Storm sat on one of the low library chairs,
not trusting her knees at that moment.

“Kitty has lived with that her
whole life, you know.” The Professor
had been very quiet during the entire visit, even before Kitty had entered the
room. The projections he had received
from Kitty’s parents were strong and hate-filled. More than that, they were ashamed of their hate, of that which
made them so like their enemies of old. I almost pity them. “Kitty is going to have a long road ahead of
her. She may seem fine on the surface,
but there is a bubbling cauldron of anger and hurt just ready to erupt.”

“I’m a father.” Logan was dumbfounded. He was angry, ready to kill the Prydes, but
at the same time strangely elated that he was now, for all intents and
purposes, Kitty’s legal father. The mix
of emotions buzzing through his system made him temporarily giddy.

“What about Kurt? You know he’s going to feed off of her
emotions.” Stoore ore her gaze from the
strange look on Logan’s face and focused back on the Professor.

“Yes. I noticed that he wasn’t saying anything during this entire
exchange and a quiet Kurt is a dangerous Kurt.
I think he is going to redouble his efforts to be with Kitty but I am
going to stand firm in my decree that they not be along together until after
her birthday.”

“What about…”

“Well, tonight is unusual. I think I can overlook it. Besides, I don’t think either of them are in
the emotional placeessaessary for those sorts of activities.” Storm sighed and nodded in agreement and
followed the professor from the room, leaving Logan to stare at the wall in
continued amazed anger.

 

Kitty allowed
Kurt to press his full length against her before breaking down into
body-racking sobs. He just let her cry
it all out, wetting his fur with her tears and runny nose, absorbing her pain
and anger. “I love you, Katzchen.” He muttered this over and over into her
ears, mixing it with nonsense phrases in German meant to comfort her if she
could understand him. She finally
calmed down to a few hiccoughing sobs and rubbed her face against his neck. “Do you need some water?”

“No. Just lay with me. I need to touch you right now.”
Kitty twined her leg through Kurt’s as his tail snaked around her waist,
the tip caressing her back. He could
understand the need for human contact, he just wished that thoughts of Kitty
naked and writhing beneath him were not winning out over more virtuous thoughts
of comforting her.

“I need to
shift a little…” He pulled his hips
away, hoping that she would not catch on to his reaction and finding himself
mortified when she eyed his crotch. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t
apologize. It’s good to know you still
think I’m attractive all snotty and red.”
Kitty hooked a leg over his and pulled him back to her. “I’m not offended. It’s just the stress of almost seventeen years of trying to be
perfect has finally lifted off my shoulders and I don’t know how to feel about
that.”

“So you’re happy
that they…you know?”

“Happy
isn’t the word for it. I’m angry and
hurt that they did it because, I mean, they are my parents after
all. But I don’t think they ever really
loved me like parents are supposed to love their children and finding that out
for sure tonight is what hurt the most.
Until tonight, I could always pretend they loved me somewhere deep down
inside and one morning I would wake up and find them happy to see me, happy
with me the way that I am…” Kitty
tilted her chin up to peer at Kurt.
“You’ve gone all eyes again.”

“Change
subjects any faster and next time I may get whiplash!” Kurt was reluctant to let her drop the topic
but did not want her to pitch herself into a deeper funk that she was alreain. in. “Kitty, promise me you will talk
about this, ja?”

“I
promise.” She did not sound sincere and
his steady gaze made her squirm. “Kurt,
it’s difficult to explain to myself much less anyone else!”

“The
Professor is a good listener.” Kurt let
his hand slide down her hip, the feel of her warmth beneath his hand too
tempting to ignore any longer. He ached
with need at her closeness.

‘Yes, but
still…” Kitty closed her eyes, a small
sigh escaping her lips at the tiny frissons of sensation Kurt’s fingers were
sending up her spine. “Keep doing that
and I’ll promise you anything.”

“Really?” He moved to the front of her jeans and
traced the zipper. “Anything?”

“Mmmmm.” She arched her hips into his touch. “Try me.”

“I think I
might…” Kurt made quick work of her
zipper, finding her already wet with desire.
“Katzchen, are you sure?”

“Yes,
Kurt. I’m very sure.” She pushed his hand down with one of hers
and gasped as one of his fingers entered her tight sheath. “Oh! Yesssssss.” The hiss of her
words ruffled Kurt’s fur near his ears and he gasped himself now. Kitty, a wicked smile playing on her lips,
flicked her tongue across his earlobe and up the side, not quite touching the
tip of his ear. He seemed to like it so
she did it again, bucking her hips in time to the rhythm his fingers were
setting.

“Kitty,
please!” Kurt bit his lip in
frustration, his pants now tight to the point of extreme discomfort.

“Please
what?”

“Anything!” He hated the desperation in his voice
but it could not be helped.

“I have an
idea, something I kinda want to try.”
Kitty was suddenly shy, unsure of how to phrase her request.

“Vas? Whatever you want, Katzchen.” I think. She moved to her knees, gently pulling his hand from her pants,
and pushed Kurt onto his back.

“Unzip your
pants.” She was shimmying out of her jeans and top, dropping her panties and
bra neatly into the pile a few seconds later.
Kurt was still struggling with his zipper while she made sure the door
was locked this time. “Ready?” Oh, my.
I guess so!

Kurt’s arousal was obvious, even in
the darkness of the room. Kitty crawled
back onto the bed , lying perpendicular to Kurt. She took him into her mouth, suckling gently at first then
building speed and pressure. He moaned
softly, conscious of the noise and was slightly surprised when Kitty shifted so
that she was laying on top of him, her most sensitive parts directly in his
face. Oh. I can do this…Kurt grasped Kitty’s hips and leaned upwards,
per force moving deeper into her mouth.
Giving her soft flesh a long, slow lick, Kurt asked “Is this what you
wanted to do, Katzchen?” A muffled
reply accompanied by more enthusiastic sucking was the best answer she could
have given. Kurt sought out the hard
nub of flesh at the apex of her sex with his tongue, lathing it rapturously as
Kitty moaned in response, her tongue mimicking his at her own task. Nipping at her thighs with his fangs, Kurt
murmured into her flesh, “Have I mentioned how lovely you are like this?”

Pause. “Ass up in the air and all cry-faced?”

“Nein!” Rounded, voluptuous.” He
gave her sex another long slow lick. “I
like it.” She sighed and relaxed
against him again, raking her nails up the inside of his thighs. “Hey!
That tickles!”

“Does this?” She set to work again, gently scraping her
teeth over the most sensitive part of his organ before taking it almost all the
way into her mouth and throat.

“Nein!
Definitely not!” Kurt gripped
her hips painfully at the exquisite sensations racing through his body. The scent of her arousal was intoxicating,
feeding his need for release. “I don’t
think I can last much longer, Katzchen!”
This warning only served for her to intensify her efforts, driving him
all the more closer to climax. Kurt buried his mouth in her soft folds, working
in earnest now. Each muffled moan and
exclamation drew him closer aloseloser to completion and made him mad with the
need to give her release first. He
found the nubbin of flesh again and suckled on it hard before releasing to lave
it with his tongue then suckle again.
Kitty suddenly arched her back and dug her nails into his legs, her
orgasm exploding against his lips and tongue.
Kurt followed soon thereafter, Kitty still moaning around his member as
he poured into her mouth. The collapsed
against one another for several long moments, Kurt being the first to
talk. “Unglaublich.”

“Ditto.” Kitty shifted and crawled back towards the
head of the bed, laying against Kurt’s chest.
“Do you think they’ll let us sleep in each other’s rooms after my
birthday?”

“I think that would be a lot to
hope for. But then again, this
was a lot to hope for, ja?” Kurt’s
gesture indicated their naked bodies, and, by proxy, their relationship.

“You know, I just realized that I
never answered you the other night.”
Kitty propped herself up on her elbows
and traced tiny hearts on Kurt’s chest.

“About what, Mein schatz?”

“Yes, I’ll be your
girlfriend.” She giggled when Kurt
rolled her onto her back and growled into her neck, nibbling the sensitive skin
there. “I take it you’re happy?”

“Ecstatic!” After a brief tickle match, Kurt became
serious again. “Kitty, do you promise
me now that you’ll talk to Professor Xavier about what happened in the
library?”

“I don’t want to, but I will. Just because you asked me to, you
know.” Kitty would much rather have
sublimated the entire event and pretended like it never happened but she knew
that Kurt would never let her.

“Thank you, my best beloved.” He kissed her chastely on the forehead. “I had best be going. I don’t want to get into too much trouble—I
think we’re on thin ice as it is…”

“I know. I just wish…well, wish in one hand, spit in the other and see
which fills first, right?” With a weary
chuckle, Kitty patted Kurt’s hand where it rested against her bare hip. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“Me, too. Gute nacht, Katzchen.”
Kurt, with his clothes tucked under his arm, gave Kitty another kiss and
‘ported from her room.

Kitty stared at the spot where he
had been for a long moment and finally allowed the pain of the evening to erase
Kurt’s loving attention. When she
slept, it was the dreamless sleep of the weary.

 

 

 

 

A/N Lance and Amara
lead off the next chapter, so quit wondering what they’re getting up to—you’ll
find out soon enough! :P



 



[1] That’s
American Football, a sport I can’t really get to like or support (admitting
this will probably get me lynched in the South!)

[2] Jewish
ritual of prayers for the dead said for a year after their passing. Only men can say it, though, according to
tradition. So even if the dead could
say Kaddish for themselves, Kitty couldn’t do it.

[3] Never
fear—they aren’t going to wait that long. This is NC-17 Kurtty, for crying out loud! Smut prevails!

[4] It’s a food
traditionally eaten at Rosh Hashanah that is comprised mainly of carrots and
honey, symbolic of prosperity and sweetness of the New Year.

[5] It’s an
actual expression. In case you haven’t
heard it, it’s like saying someone looks like Hell warmed over, just not as
bad.

[6] Totally made
up last name. Figured that, like most
immigrants around WWII, the Prydes would have had their name changed when they
entered the country but retained their original name for family records and
such.