Hello!  We are Tainz (Taineyah) and Meva (Amieva).  This is our first story on our joint account!!!!  It came to us at about 3 am during a sleepover almost a year ago.  Tainz felt sorry for Kurt because she's a guitar player and she realised that, with only three fingers on each hand, Kurt couldn't play guitar.  Meva came up with an instrument he could play. 

            It took us ages to work out kinks and figure out who all was going to be in our band fic, but here it is.  Although lyrics do appear within the story, this isn't a true songfic.  Except in cases where the characters write their own song, an entire song will never appear in this story.  Lines will always be missing from the song, or it would get in the way of the flow of the story too much.

Meva's Disclaimer: Neither the X-Men nor any song contained within this story belong to Meva.  I think Tainz wrote my script again... Why on earth would I talk like that?  Oh well...

Tainz's Disclaimer:  Same goes for Tainz.  On that note, Meva' Disclaimer and I are going out to find a bar!

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Solitaire

by Tainz and Meva

Chapter 1:  Don't you ever knock?!?

            Rogue sat on her bed, curled around her guitar while she sang softly to herself.

            You come out at night,

            That's when the energy comes,

            And the dark side's light,

            And the vampires roam.

            You strut your rasta wear and your suicide poem,

            And a cross from a faith that died,

            Before Jesus came.

            You're building a mystery."

            She was so absorbed in her quiet music that she didn't see Kurt come in.  She only stopped singing and raised her head when she smelled the brimstone of his teleportation.

            "How many times have Ah told you to knock, fuzzball?"  She lay her guitar down gently beside her, nestling it in her blankets.

            Kurt smiled excitedly, crouching on the end of Kitty's bed.  "I'm not sure.  A few, anyvay."

            "You don't just bamf in here!  What would you have done if Ah'd been naked?"  She glared at him furiously.  She did not like her practice time interrupted.

            "That vill never happen!"

            Her glare intensified.  "How do you know?"

            "I use... brother radar?  I alvays know if it's safe to come in."  His grin stayed plastered across his face, unwavering even in the face of his angry sister.

            "Shut up and get out.  Ah don't fell like dealin' with your good mood right now.

            He jumped off of Kitty's bed and Rogue thought that maybe, for once, she was going to have a stroke of luck and Kurt would get out.  Instead, he stood in front of her, balancing on his toes.

            "I have something to show you!"  Kurt reached towards her to try to pull her up off her bed but thought better of it from the way she was looking at him.  "Come vith me!"

            Rogue sighed in defeat, knowing that he wasn't going to leave.  "Will ya leave me alone for the rest of the day if Ah take a look?"

            He nodded excitedly.  "Sure!  Anything you say."  Kurt was absolutely euphoric.  Nothing in the world could bring him down.  "I really think you'll like this vun!"

            Rogue groaned, remembering the last time he'd said that. "Oh God.  It's not another rodent, is it?"

            "Nein.  Besides, the squirrel vas cute and he followed me home.  I never brought him here on purpose."

            "Whatever."

            Kurt was so excited that he just grabbed Rogue's arm and teleported them.  An instant later, the smoke cleared and they were in the front hall.  A bright blue tarp covered something lumpy.

            Unsure of what could possibly be under the tarp that she'd be interested in, Rogue glared at him again.  "Kurt, if that's a kiddie car or somethin', you're wastin' mah time."

            He rolled his eyes at her.  "Just look under the tarp!"

            She did as she was told, just wanting this to be over so she could go back to her guitar. 

            She looked at him over her shoulder, confused.  "A drumset?  Kurt, no one here even plays the drums."

            He pulled something out of his pocket.  A pair of drumsticks, she realised after an instant.

            "I do," he said softly, twirling them deftly between his fingers.

            Kurt teleported so that he was sitting on the stool.  That's when Rogue noticed that the drums matched the colour of his fur.

            She snorted.  "Ah see you colour co-ordinated?"

            "I thought it vas funny," he said, shrugging defensively.

            He tossed a drumstick up in the air and caught it.  Rogue was about to open her mouth to tell him to cut the goofing and show her if he could actually play, when the first beat sounded.  He started with a series of rolls across all of the drums, while he kept the beat on the cymbals and bass drum.  His feet pounded the pedals, his hands blurred as he struck the drumheads.  Rogue's jaw dropped.  It was a pretty amazing drum solo.  It lasted at breakneck speed for a minute or two, then stopped dead.

            "So?" Kurt asked, brushing imaginary dirt from his drumsticks.  He was too nervous to look her in the eye.

            "Wh...Where did you learn to do that?" she asked in astonishment.  As far as she knew, Kurt had never even taken a music class.

            "Bradley McLuhan."  Kurt kept his eyes down as he readjusted the pedals and fidgeted.

            "The band geek?  How'd ya get him to stop chasin' the cheerleaders long enough to teach you?"

            "I gave him the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation series on DVD."

            Rogue let out a low whistle.  "That musta cost you a pretty penny.  How'd you have enough for the drums?"

            "I didn't buy the DVDs.  I told the cheerleaders that if they bought it for me to give to him, I vould keep him out of their hair during their practice for a few months ."

            Rogue laughed.  "Makes sense."

            Kurt, nervous as he was, thought that she was avoiding telling him her opinion on his drumming.  There was silence for a few minutes, then he finally blurted, "Vas my drumming okay?  Did you like it?"

            She nodded.  "Ah loved it.  You were amazin'."

            He looked at her long enough to see she was serious, then looked down again, flipping his drumsticks back and forth idly.  "So... um... mein schwester... I vas thinking... um... Maybe ve could practice together?"  He glanced up at her expectantly.

            "Like a band?  Ah don't see why not.  It might be interestin'."

            Kurt grinned up, his excitement rekindled.  "Great!  Evan said he'd vork vith us too!  He said he'd sing and play keyboard."

            "Kurt..."  Rogue tried to break in, but he ignored her, or maybe didn't hear her in his relief.

            "All ve need now is a bassist!  I guess ve could put an ad in the newspaper.  People do that sometimes."

            "Kurt..."  She was getting frustrated now, but he kept babbling.

            "Ve can call ourselves... The Butt Monkeys!"

            "What?  No!" Rogue practically yelled.

            Kurt looked hurt.  "You don't vant to be in a band vith me and Evan?"

            "Ah do, but not if the band's named The Butt Monkeys! If this was an alternate dimension or somethin', then maybe, but NO!"

            Kurt laughed his fuzzy little head off. Rogue shook her head.

            "Ve can come up vith a name later.  This is going to be great!"  Kurt spun around on his stool.

            Rogue shook her head.  She'd never seen Kurt this excited.

            "Ve could call ourselves the fuzzy dude, the other dude and the scary Goth dudette."

            "Kurt..."  She'd thought of something.

            "You're right.  That is far too long...  I should go make a special dessert to celebrate..."

            "Would ya..."  Again, Rogue found herself cut off by his excitement.

            "Brownies.... I could make yummy, chocolatey Brownies."

            "Just..."

            "Ja... Brownies vould be per--"

            "Just shut up for a second!"

            Kurt gulped in mid-word.  "Was is wrong?"

            "Have you even thought about where we're gonna practice?"  Rogue watched Kurt's face fall.  "Logan hates drums.  He's not gonna let us do it here, within his earshot."

            Kurt blinked and his tail sagged.  "Oh..."

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            The song Rogue sang at the beginning was Building a Mystery, by Sarah McLachlan.

Meva: I like cheese!

Taine: Good god! Not this again!

Meva: Monkey eats the cheese. Monkey eats the cheese. Monkey eats th- mrrph!

Taine: *with her hand over Meva's mouth* Please! Leave a review and make her stop!

Have a Rockabilly day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meva: Brownies.... hee heee heee

Taine: Meva, the chapter's over.

Meva: Oh...