Disclaimer: Characters and settings = not mine. See Marvel and Fox for details.

The Water is Fine


She doesn't cry. That's one of the first things he notices when he arrives at the mansion. Some other people get red-rimmed eyes but Ororo's eyes stay lucid and in control, though a little more reluctant to laugh. She is not granite, but dark wood or molten glass. Not set in stone, but malleable. She has a choice to break and splinter, and chooses to stay whole.

"You are always up so early," he says to her one morning.

She sits at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around a coffee mug. Ororo smiles at the rising steam. "Speak for yourself."

Kurt takes a seat across from her and she rises to get him coffee, but he tells her no, it's fine. So they just sit in silence and wait for the day to begin. They exchange small smiles every time their eyes meet, but eventually the smiles fade into the silence and he's surprised to note the silence is more comfortable. He discovers Ororo's mornings are quiet, and they enjoy the simple company of each other until Artie wanders in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and asking for cereal.

-

The mansion is big and he gets lost sometimes, but people are always ready with a 'down the hall then turn left' or a 'it's the first door on the right, don't worry, you can't miss it.' Sometimes they giggle and give him a 'that's all the way on the other side of the mansion!' and Kurt smiles along with them. Here, things are always 'with', never 'at' or 'against.'

He didn't think such havens could exist, and deep in his heart he knows they don't. Kurt almost dreads the day he becomes familiar enough with the place to know its dirty little secrets. 'Almost' is the key word. It's been so long since he's been familiar with anything.

-

"You're good with the students."

Kurt has just walked out of the rec room grinning and waving goodbye, and Ororo's voice catches him by surprise. He stops in his tracks. His grin disappears and is replaced by something more tentative.

Ororo leans against the wall beside the doorway and smiles at his puzzled expression. "Sorry for startling you."

"Oh, no," he says quickly. "I'm not startled."

"I was just walking by and I heard your voice, and the kids'..." She shrugs, a movement that seems dignified and graceful on her shoulders. "Nobody laughs much these days. Really laugh. It's nice to hear."

And he has to agree. It was the X-Men's martyrdom that drove Kurt to the children in the first place. And yes, call him a hypocrite because he's the one who carves repentant tattoos into his skin, but also, call him scared. Call him careful and uncertain and not wanting the bite the hand that feeds him. Despite their words, he is still a stranger and he recognises this.

"What do you talk to the kids about?"

"Sometimes I tell them about the circus. There are many things to tell."

The corners of her lips turn vaguely upwards. "I'm sure there are."

"Yes, well." Kurt laughs self-consciously and looks away, and sees Jubilee and Kitty listening by the door. He tips his head to the side, subtly reproaching, and the girls retreat in a soft flurry of muffled giggles.

"Perhaps not wonderful..." he says to Ororo, and clears his throat. "Mostly, I listen. They do the talking. They like to talk." And eavesdrop, he adds mentally.

Ororo nods. "That's good. Some of these kids have been through a lot, and it's nice to have someone to talk to."

Kurt picks his next words carefully. "You have also been through a lot."

She turns her gaze to the floor, and for a moment Kurt wonders if he's said something wrong.

"Yes," she replies.

He waits for her to say more, but she only looks up at the opposite wall, says something about seeing him at dinner, and walks away.


[finis.]