Fractals

Fractals Chapter Nine (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… yes, I’m a natural blue… InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and marshmallowy for archiving/hosting! :) ProPhile: Happy now? ;) Morgan: *poke * Readers/Reviewers: The ducks send their love and the Killer Kitties ™ seem to be making something nefarious with yarn… in the meantime. THANK YOU!!!! for reading/reviewing! :)

Kitty woke feeling thick. She made a face as she tasted the inside of her own mouth, the sticky sweet morning breath making her wish that she kept Listerine at her bedside. Rahne snored softly in her bed beneath the window, part of the reason for her fitful sleep. _I hate sharing a room… _ Silently, Kitty slipped from her bed and ghosted ithe the half bath, turning on the light once she was sure the door was shut. It was before dawn, but late enough after midnight to truly consider it morning. Hurriedly, she brushed her teeth to rid herself of the offensive breath, partially glad that Kurt had not been able to sneak into her bed for the evening. By the same token, she was regretting not going to him, despite her mood and his mild meddling. _It wasn’t even really meddling, _ she thought. _He was wod and and I shouldn’t have snapped. _ She washed her face and brushed her hair, tying it up into it’s usual high ponytail before shutting off the light and slipping back out into the dark bedroom. She dressed by memory, years of keeping her clothes in the same place taking most of the guess work away. She only had one misstep when she pulled on a shirt that was far too tight and realized it was Rahne’s t-shirt. Kitty toyed with the idea of wearing for an early morning visit to Kurt but changed her mind when she realized that she would have to explain to Rahne why her shirt smelled like her and was covered in blue fur. A glance at the clock on her nightstand showed her that she had at least three hours before most of the mansion was awake, except Logan who never seemed to sleep and Jono, who would not be prowling around at this time of morning anyway. _Or would he? _ she wondered as she buttoned up her sweater over her t-shirt. There was something phenomenally creepy about the possibility of running into Jono in the dark of the mansion’s hallways, especially when she considered that, for all intents and purposes, he was dead. She made a mental not to ask Paige how she could stand it before she eased out into the hallway outside her—their—room. It was silent as the grave and she exhaled softly. She was alone. She could hear Todd talking disjointedly in his sleep and smiled faintly as she headed for the stairs, traipsing lightly down the old wooden steps to the marble foyer, walking on nt fnt feet across the entryway to the rec room, phasing through the furniture without thinking and ending up in the kitchen. She did not turn on the light—it would attract attention, surely—as she found the box of green tea and a mug, hissing to herself as she knocked something over in the dark.
“It would be easier with the light,” Mrs Wagner murmured softly from the vicinity of the old butcher block table near the window.
Kitty jumped silently, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as her body reacted in fright before acceptance. “Astrid!” she breathed. “I didn’t want to wake anyone up… what’re you doing down here so early?”
“I couldn’t sleep either,” she replied, turning the overhead on and blinking at the sudden flood of bright light. She noted Kitty’s drawn appearance and wondered whether to write it off to the hour or something more. “Kurti tells me you went to bed angry.”
She blushed slightly, setting the kettle of water on the stovetop. “I wasn’t angry at him… I just sort of forgot to tell him though.”
Astrid sighed and smiled weakly. “He was worried… he thinks that maybe you’re having some sort of…emotional problem, about your father—about Mort—dying.” She reached for a bag of some spicy tea and a mug, setting it next to Kitty’s. “Honey?”
“Yes, dear?” she responded promptly, trying for levity. Astrid smirked and brandished a bottle of honey from the pantry. Seeing that Kurt’s mother was not to be diverted, she sighed and rolled her head, popping her neck and wincing. “I’m fine, really. They disowned me and cut all ties… After we’re done at the lawyer’s today, there’s nothing more they can do to me.”
Astrid nodded slowly, staring at the Formica countertop for a long moment. “Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure their threats will bear fruit?”
Kitty nodded, pouring the boiling water from the kettle into both of their mugs. “I check Yay Yaya, God rest her soul, was a very smart woman but she didn’t know the legalities like she thought she did. Her lawyer didn’t bother to point out a few loopholes when she finalized her will because they were so… odd… that you’d have to really and I mean REALLY look for them to use them.” She sighed and dunked her tea bag a few times before continuing. “This is just a shelter, so I’m not worried.”
Astrid nodded. “Of course… But I would hate for you to feel… I don’t know. Resentful, I think is the word I want. Like we’re using the money.”
Kitty shook her head. “I trust you, Astrid. I trust all of you. That’s why I’m doing this.” She pressed the tea bag with the back of her spoon before sighing and adding, “This way, it’s untouchable. This makes me sound like I’m a horrible person, hoarding money or something but damn it…” her voice raised a notch and her eyes watered, “Yaya left this to me for my life, to make it easier for me, to make it simpler. This is dishonoring her memory, doing this…”
Astrid pulled her in for an embrace, rubbing her back maternally. “Kitty, you’re doing the right thing. Your father’s death is a shock, even if you don’t want to admit it to anyone but your secret self. You don’t have to do this today. We can wait… maybe a better solution will present itself by next week.”
Kitty sniffled, trying to keep from really crying. “You have to go home Sunday night, though…”
“You’re family, Kitty,” she smiled, holding her at arm’s length. “You’re as good as a daughter to me. Wagners never let family down.”
Kitty had to laugh abruptly at this. “I’m sorry… you’re just more a mother to me than my own ever was…”
“Am I interrupting something?” Logan rumbled from the doorway. He looked mildly dishevled, as if he had just awakened, and this made Kitty giggle girlishly. “What?”
“Your hair,” she giggled. Instead of his usual odd points, it stuck out every which way and looked like his own personal homage to Albert Einstein.
“No hair jokes until my third cup,” he mued, ed, heading for the coffee machine. “You two are up early.”
Astrid winked at Kitty. “Ah, women like us, we need no beauty sleep!”
Logan laughed. “I see where Kurt gets it from…” He paused, the red blinking light on the answering machine catching his eye. He had never figured out why the Professor did not get voice mail for the phones and suspected the man did not know how to access voice mailboxes. Instead, they hae toe top of line answering machines in the kitchen, studies, and offices. “Who called?”
Kitty shrugged. “Who knows? Probably a telemarketer during dinner last night.” She busied herself with her tea and Astrid began rummaging through the pantry, looking for something to make for an early breakfast.
Logan punched the play button and returned to making his coffee as the automated voice on the machine announced that the call had come in the previous evening at seven thirty six p.m,. during dinner as Kitty had suggested. Instead of a telemarketer, though, a smooth, slightly accented voice came across the lines. “Ah, Charles… clinging to convention still. How… nice. I was wondering if you had seen the late edition of the Daily Planet. Pietro brought it to my attention just a short while ago; he found it online. I don’t have the paper copy before me but no doubt you can find one easily. I suggest you check page 3 A.” The message ended with an audible click and all three people in the kitchen staring at the phone.
“Half Pint… do we get the Daily Planet?” Logan asked in a measured tone, taking long, slow breaths.
“No… the Bugle. Professor Xavier says it’s less sensational.”
“Go online. Now. Find out what the fu… Hell he was talking about.” Kitty nodded and bolted from the room, heading for the computer in the library. “Astrid,” Logan tossed over his shoulder as he strode from the room, “might want to see about getting out of town before the shit really hits the fan.”
She grabbed her tea and strode after him. “Like hell!”