That moment when you're browsing a flash drive full of old stories and you stumble across one you wrote like five years ago and didn't even remember…

It's like Christmas in July! Whee!

Cleaned up and edited. Enjoy!

Every New Beginning
by Quickening

"Like, has anyone seen Kurt?"

Poking her head into the common room, Kitty Pryde eyeballed the small assemblage of teenage boys gathered there. All of whom were fixated on the image of Pamela Anderson running along the beach, her inflatable chest bobbing up and down in slow motion in the opening sequence of yet another Baywatch marathon.

Given that Kitty's competitor for their attention was a pair of preternaturally-sized breasts, nobody even glanced her way. She rolled her eyes. Boys.

"Like, hello! Kurt? Fuzzy elf? Anyone seen him?" she repeated, raising her voice to slightly below a dull roar.

"Nope."

"Not lately."

"Check the roof?"

"Check the fridge?"

"Shhhh!"

"How come Jean's boobs never do that when she's run—OW!"

Evan rubbed his abused ribs and glared at Scott, who glared right back as he retracted his elbow.

Kitty rolled her eyes again and suppressed the urge to smack her forehead against the wall. "Like, forget I asked," she muttered, backing out of the room, and smack-dab into Wolverine. "Oh! Sorry, Mr. Logan. I was just looking for Kurt," she explained by way of apology.

"Saw the squirrel sneakin' off into the woods earlier. Might still be there," the teacher grunted, heading into the lounge and making himself comfortable among the others. Kitty suppressed a snort. Nothing said male bonding like a bunch of women with fake boobs and dental floss for bathing suits. She headed outdoors toward the wooded area of the grounds where X-men and students alike took part in long hours of training, courtesy of Wolverine.

"Kurt?" she called. "You out here?"

The only reply was her echo. She sighed, fingering the portable CD player she held, and wondering if it was worth the effort. Her fuzzy elf had been down in the dumps for the past four days, due in part because of a malfunctioning holo-watch (with its water-proof casing that had turned out to be not-quite-so-waterproof). It was taking longer than usual to fix, as Dr. McCoy and Professor Xavier were usually the ones who repaired any damages. Since they were both out of town on business, it would have to wait until they returned at the end of the week.

This meant, of course, that Kurt was grounded for the entire week, out of school "with a cold". Normally, he'd be thrilled to have an entire free week from school, but Kitty had noticed that after the first two days, he'd seemed unusually listless. She knew it had at least a little to do with being forced to miss an overnight class field trip to Washington DC, which he'd been looking forward to. The rest, after a bit of coaxing (and bribery by lots of chocolate) had spilled out afterward, about his frustration with his appearance and how hard it was for him to be normal, to be like everyone else. He hated having to rely on a bunch of microchips to achieve his desired dream. Not that he didn't appreciate the freedom even that much gave him; he just wished he didn't have to be constantly afraid of it breaking at the wrong time.

Kitty sighed to herself. She could sympathize with him, and even understand him. A little, at least. After all, it wasn't as if walking through walls was a normal, everyday occurrence for the average American teenager. But, at least she had the privilege of looking human, whereas Kurt had been born blue, fuzzy, and demonic-looking. It really wasn't fair, she thought. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to grow up like that, but she could imagine it had probably not been easy and certainly accounted for the vast amount of self-esteem issues he was always trying to hide beneath his ridiculous displays. It made her sad to think that, while she could empathize with him, she could never do anything to really help him.

At least not until now.

Sighing, she blew an escaping wisp of hair from her eyes. "Kurt," she called, "if you're deliberately hiding from me, I am, like, so gonna stick something smelly and unpleasant under your blankets tonight!"

"Vas? You mean Scott's gym socks, by chance?"

Kurt's playful reply came from directly behind and above her, making her jump forward with a startled squawk. She whirled around and looked up, craning her neck. Kurt sat cross-legged and upside down on a tree branch at least fifteen feet above her, his hair and tail dangling. His fangs flashed in the dim light as he grinned down at her, waggling his fingers. "Hello!"

She sighed. "I swear, you're like a gecko. Come down from there, I wanna show you something!"

He immediately started falling, doing a flip midair to land safely on his haunches, his grin widening at her alarmed gasp.

"Why do you, like, persist in trying to put me into cardiac arrest?"

"Because ze look of terror on Katzchen's face is so utterly adorable."

"You have a sick and twisted personality, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Vhy, danke. I do my best."

Kitty couldn't keep the smile from twitching across her lips. Business before flirting, Pryde, she reminded herself sternly, and offered him the Discman. Suddenly, she was nervous. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that it was being put into action, the second-guessing had begun. "So, like, I was riding home from school the other day and Scott switched the station on the radio as this song was playing, right?" she began. "It was almost over but I heard these lyrics and it just, like, hit me that you really need to listen to it, 'cause it's the perfect song for you. It was like it was written with you in mind!"

"Uh-oh. I think I should be vorried," he replied with mock-fear.

"I'm like being serious here! Anyway, I didn't know the title or who sang it—Like, they never tell you who sings what when you really want them to, ever notice that?—and Scott and Jean were, like, arguing and being completely oblivious of course (I swear those two so need to get a room), so I had to Google the lyrics and, like, a zillion pages popped up. So then I had to match that teeny bit I heard to the right lyrics and, long story short, I figured out it's a song sung by Bon Jovi. You've heard of him, right? He's like way popular."

Kurt merely blinked at her.

Gulping, she plunged ahead. "Well, I know Jean loves his albums, so she has the CD the song is on. But she doesn't have a portable player so I actually borrowed this one from Rogue only she doesn't know so please don't break it or she'll, like, own my soul—" Kitty abruptly cut herself off, aware that she was well into rambling, judging by the increasingly puzzled expression on Kurt's face. His English was excellent, but he did tend to get a little lost when she warped into rambling-ditz-mode, which seemed to happen around him more and more often these days. Stupid teenage hormones…

"Anyway," she finished, shoving the player into his hands, "I've set it to the right song already, all you have to do is hit play, and listen really carefully, especially to the—" Here she paused and pulled a crumpled paper out of her pocket. "—the third stanza, this part here." She shoved the paper at him and tapped on a set of underlined words. "'Cause this is, like, the most important part and I agree with it, like, one-hundred percent and if you don't agree, then you're just an idiot." She left the paper in his hands and stepped back, bouncing on the balls of her feet; another nervous habit, she realized, that she'd been displaying a lot around him lately. "Well, anyway, I'll leave you alone. Just listen, okay, and then bring the player back but don't let Rogue see you with it or she'll, like, totally blow a gasket."

She again paused for breath and the two stared at each other for a long moment; one apprehensive, the other just downright confused. "Well … bye." With a little wave, Kitty hopped around and darted back to the mansion, leaving a thoroughly astonished Kurt behind, blinking at her back.

She was getting agitated, and tried to calm herself by pacing the length of her shared bedroom. It was well over a half hour, and Kurt still hadn't made an appearance. Rogue could come in at any moment and see her player was missing, and of course she'd immediately blame Kitty (not that she'd be unjustified in doing so), and Kitty really didn't want to have to explain why she'd filched it. There would be questions. Lots of questions. With probably some laughter and even more teasing to follow. She worried a lip and bounced again. The song should have been over by then; it was only a few minutes long, for cripe's sake! So where was he?

A loud bamf sounded as Kurt suddenly popped into the room, heralded by a waft of smoke and the lingering odor of brimstone. Kitty made an immediate dive for her bed and scrabbled for the Teen Vogue on the floor beside it, as absorbed as if she hadn't just been pacing a hole into the rug for the past half-hour.

He saw her, of course, and couldn't help smiling at the poor cover-up. "Hey," he said by way of greeting, tossing the player on the bed beside her. She immediately put it back on Rogue's night stand, in exactly the same position she'd taken it from. She knew, because she'd taken a digital photo before even touching it, just to make sure. Seriously, Rogue was so freakishly possessive about anyone touching her stuff. It was slightly scary.

Disaster abated, Kitty heaved a great sigh of relief and turned to face Kurt … and froze in horror at the telltale streaks making dark tracks through the fur on his cheeks. He smiled at her weakly. "Don't vorry, Katzchen. I'm fine," he assured her, making himself comfortable on her bed by folding himself into one of those impossible, pretzel-like positions that only someone with a rubber spine could pull off.

"D-did you listen to it?" she squeaked, wincing at the sound of her own voice. She perched on the edge of her bed beside him, crossing her legs under her.

"Ja, I listened," came the quiet response.

Clearing her throat, she tried again. "I—Well, did it … encourage you? I heard it and thought maybe—I mean, you've been so sad lately so I thought this would really help you to realize that—"

Kurt reached out to lightly grip her ankle, and she fell silent. He favored her with one of his rare, gentle smiles. "It vas most encouraging, and something I needed to hear," he told her, brushing at the tear-tracks on his face. "But it vasn't because of ze song, Katzchen. I vas even more encouraged because you vent to so much effort to have me listen to it. Zat means even more to me. Danke."

She found herself blushing, not quite able to meet his gaze. "It wasn't any trouble, really," she protested.

"You searched ze song on ze internet, not even knowing ze title or singer, and zen risked Rogue's almighty temper to snitch her player just so I could listen to it. Sounds like trouble to me," he teased.

"Well, but, it was to help a friend, so it was worth it."

"Zen, as a friend, I feel duty-bound to repay ze favor. Perhaps some ice cream? Or how about frozen yogurt? Zere is a great little shop zat just opened in ze mall …" He trailed off suggestively.

She shot him a puzzled glance. "But, won't Tabitha get all, like, mad at you if you take a girl out for ice cream?"

"Tabby?" He looked puzzled. "Vhy vould she be angry about zat?"

"Well, but, I've seen you guys hanging around together an awful lot lately," Kitty stuttered. "I thought, like, maybe you two were, you know, going out or something."

Kurt laughed outright at that. "Nein! Tabby's a blast to hang out vith, don't get me wrong, but in case you haven't noticed, she can be a little … insensitive sometimes."

"Yeah, like, no kidding," Kitty snorted derisively.

He smiled softly. "Her idea of cheering me up is to drop vater balloons on people from ze school roof. Vhich is all in good fun, of course … but she vould never have picked out a special song vith just ze right lyrics, or put herself through so much trouble to find it. Vhich is vhy vhat you did is so special." He cocked his head to one side. "But, I vanted to know, vhy did you underline zese lyrics?" He held out the paper. "Vhy zis particular verse?"

She blushed furiously, glancing shyly away. "B-because … well, that's the part I heard on the radio. Seriously, it was like it smacked me right upside the head 'Hello, this is, like, Kurt all over!' you know? And it's true. Y-you are perfect, and despite what you may believe, I think God knew exactly what he was doing when he made you. Maybe it isn't clear now, but … I'm sure there're great things in store for you. For all of us, really. But especially for you."

Kurt uncurled himself from his pretzel, moving toward her slowly, watching carefully to gauge her reaction. Her flushed cheeks grew even warmer as her eyes darted about, unable to meet his intense, yellow gaze. Oh my gosh he's gonna kiss me what do I do? Once, Lance had caught her alone in the school hallway and hauled her up against a locker and kissed her. She had been so startled that she'd ended up phasing right through him, but not before he'd managed to lay one on her, however briefly. She hadn't particularly enjoyed it, either. He'd been rough and she'd cut her lip on her teeth as a result. That was when she'd decided the bad boy type wasn't her cup of tea, after all, and had studiously avoided him ever since.

But this was Kurt. Her Fuzzy Elf, who would never, ever hurt her. She jumped a bit when his three-fingered hand cupped her chin to tilt her face gently upward. Her shy gaze drifted up to meet pale golden eyes nearly brimming with emotion, and she held perfectly still as he leaned in and feathered a sweet, soft kiss across her mouth.

A moment passed. And then he withdrew just enough to better study her reaction, a smile curling his lips at her deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression. "I vill tell you ze ozer reason vhy I'm not going out vis Tabby," he murmured, his accent thickening in the effort to convey his sincerity. "It is because I can't date von girl vhen I'm already so much in love vis anozer one."

Kitty's eyes widened, her breath hitching at his soft confession. She felt tears pricking her eyes, blinked rapidly, and a panicked expression crossed Kurt's face when he saw the telltale glitter. She sniffled a bit, a small smile crossing her lips. "Even after … everything I said to you in the past, you still … really feel that way? I thought … maybe you'd given up already."

He leaned his forehead against hers, playfully rubbing their noses together. "Nein. I can be very stubborn," he whispered, as if imparting a great secret. She released a watery giggle in response. "So does zis mean you'll be having zat dinner vis me?"

Her wobbly smile grew. "I thought the offer was for ice cream."

"It just got upgraded. Vhat can I say? I'm feeling very lucky right now." He offered a wolfish grin. "So? Dinner? I'll even take you someplace vhere zey serve salads."

She sniffed again and nodded mutely, wiping at her eyes as she smiled.

"And you're sure … Alvers won't mind?" Kurt pulled a sour face. "Vhat am I saying? Of course he'll mind. But vill you mind, going vis me instead of him?"

She met his gaze with another shy smile. "Alvers who?" she whispered.

He dared to pull her closer, wrapping his arms around her in a sweet embrace and resting his chin on her shoulder. She returned the gesture and they sat there for long moments, simply holding each other and savoring the not-so-sudden and very welcome turn their friendship was taking. "Thank you, Katzchen," he murmured into her ear. "Seriously. Thank you."

She smiled, closing her eyes. "No problem, Fuzzy Elf," she replied. "Just glad I could finally help."

Sadly, their moment was interrupted when the door slammed opened and Rogue strolled into the room. She glanced at the pair with a raised eyebrow, rolled her eyes with a muttered, "It's about damned time," and promptly ignored them as she began rummaging around in her drawers.

Kurt reluctantly sat back, smirking at Kitty's blushing face. "So, vhere should ve go for dinner? Just name it. Er … so long as it isn't too pricy. My funds are a bit … limited." He flashed a sheepish grin.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So it may end up being fast food after all?"

"I didn't say zat! Just no high-class restaurants vhere a glass of vater equals a month's salary in some third-vorld country, okay?"

"All right! Which one o' you yahoos was playin' around with my Discman?"

They both froze and turned to face a glowering Rogue, who was holding said Discman in her hands. Her glare was enough to melt ice.

"Um, like, whatever in the world are you talking about?" Kitty asked, a little too innocently, given the fact that her face had blanched pure white. Even Kurt was looking a shade paler than normal under his fur.

Rogue pursed her lips, flipped open the player, and yanked out the CD that had still been inside of it. "If yer gonna hide th' crime, wouldn't it help t' r'member t' remove the evidence?"

"Oh. Um … oops?" Kitty squeaked, doing her best to hide behind Kurt. "Save me!" she hissed at him.

But he was smarter than that. "Oh, vould you look at ze time," he exclaimed, checking his non-existent watch. "Vell, gotta go. Places to go. People to bug. Dinners to plan. You know how it is. Ja!" He vanished in a puff of smoke.

Leaving Kitty to stand exactly where she was, blinking at an evilly-smirking Rogue as her brain sought to process what had just happened. Apparently, her Fuzzy Elf wasn't willing to risk his sister's wrath, even for her sake.

"Kurt! You … you traitor!"

End

Hope Kurt's dialogue wasn't too annoying to read. He has such a cute voice, I was trying to capture it without going too overboard on the accent. Dunno how well I succeeded.

This story was inspired by Bon Jovi's Welcome to Wherever You Are from his Have a Nice Day album. It seriously is a gorgeous song. In keeping with the site's rules, the lyrics are not included in the story, but if you really wanna read them then just take a page from Kitty's book and look 'em up.

Finally, sorry if the slight religious undertones offend anyone, but it IS keeping within their characters. Kitty is Jewish and Kurt was raised devout Catholic. It makes sense that God is a part of their lives.