5
He scared her.
So far, no one here had been scared of him, strange as it was. He'd gotten a few strange looks, even some new nicknames he didn't care for, but he had never scared anyone.
Not until now.
He'd watched her wither in front of him when she saw him, take a step back when he took one forward to greet her. He stopped right there and offered a closed-mouth smile, rather than terrify her anymore with his fangs. Thankfully, she hadn't screamed.
"'They'll like you when they get to know you,'" he muttered to himself in his native German, repeating the so-called comfort that his mother had drilled into his head at a very young age. "It's just that not many people want to get to know me, Mama, and I doubt she will."
Sighing, he turned his attention to something more useful than brooding. His room was in dire need of cleaning.
…
You could cut the tension with a knife. Kitty Pryde knew she couldn't be the only one who felt it, and that made her feel worse. She was the cause. Everyone knew she didn't get along with the resident teleporter, and whenever he entered the room, someone else kindly offered to take her somewhere or show her something elsewhere. They were very discrete about it, and she appreciated that, but it didn't make the guilt any less bearable. Everything would be fine until he walked in, or rather, appeared in that rather startling and totally terrifying way of his. As if he wasn't scary enough, he had to go gallivanting around like that, scaring the daylights out of people! Why couldn't he just walk around like a normal person?
Just like you walk through walls like a normal person?
Her lips formed a tight line as her conscience reminded her that she was different yet again, but it had a point. Since she could now simply phase through walls, she didn't really use doors all that often. Who said he had to do the same thing just because his power was scary? And who was to say that hers wasn't? She must look like a ghost passing through walls. She wondered if anyone was as unsettled by her as she was by him.
Nah, they couldn't be. She at least looked normal.
"Kitten?"
Ororo's voice broke her from her thoughts and she realized that she was simply staring into the computer screen.
"Are you ready to go?" Ororo asked. She was supposed to be taking Kitty shopping in the city for the first time.
"Uh, yeah. Let's go." Kitty grabbed her purse and put on a smile, glad to leave the thoughts of him, as well as the man himself, behind.
…
It happened again. They thought he didn't notice, but he did. He always did. How was she going to get to know him if they were always keeping her away from him?
It was awkward for everyone and would not make for good a good team.
Kurt resolved that he was going to change her mind about him.
…
Knock, knock, knock.
Kitty saved her work on her laptop and went to the door, daydreaming of the school's tall, dark, and handsome colossus, aptly codenamed Colossus. She put on her most attractive, sultry face and swung open the door.
And shrieked.
The reality was so starkly different from her daydream that it was laughable. In the place of the surly, yet sweet, young Russian stood a wiry German devil, visibly cringing at her outburst. It was instinct to slam the door.
Kitty's cheeks burned with embarrassment. She knew what she had done was rude, but she was too much of a coward to open the door and apologize.
Knock, knock, knock.
Okay, maybe she would have to do it anyway. Slowly, carefully, she swung the door open. He was still there, forcing a smile and trying to look as small as possible. His shoulders were hunched together, hands behind his back, knees bent and back hunched. Even his tail was wrapped tightly around one of his legs.
"I'm sorry to have scared you," he managed in a soft voice, still smiling. "It was not my intention."
"Uh, yeah." Well that sounds stupid. Kitty realized she had better correct herself. "It's totally okay. I was jumpy anyway. Was watching a scary movie." She mumbled the lie as she gestured to her laptop.
He grinned, his posture straightening, before he remembered himself and quickly closed his lips, a look of embarrassment heating his face. "Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I was going to ask you if you would like to watch a movie with me?"
There was a surprise. Kitty sputtered for an answer before finally agreeing. "Yeah. Okay. Why not? What are we watching?" She needed to get used to him, and sitting in a dark room where she wouldn't have to look or talk to him would be a good start, right?
He held up a DVD case, its cover boasting a man in a three-musketeers-type hat with a rapier, holding a curly-haired woman. "Captain Blood." He smiled. "It's my favorite movie. Has been ever since I was a child."
She followed him out of her room and down the hallway. "Really? That long?"
"Ja." He chuckled. "I've always had a penchant for pirates."
Kitty forced another smile and took a seat on the couch at the far end while he loaded the DVD into the player. She watched him sit in a crouch that was so natural to him, but would be uncomfortable for almost anyone else for long periods of time. His tail swished and twirled behind him. She wondered if he was even aware of it moving, which made her then wonder if he was having trouble with the buttons on the DVD player. His fingers weren't exactly an ideal size.
Before she could ask, he rose from his crouch and joined her on the couch, thankfully taking the seat on the other end. He picked up a bowl on the side table and handed it to Kitty. "I took the liberty of preparing some popcorn for us. Would you like some?"
She tentatively reached out and took some before turning her attention to the screen and settling in. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
…
"'Who the devil may you be?' 'Peter Blood, Medicinae Baccalaureus.' 'Don't fling your French at me!' 'Latin, my dull friend. It means I'm a doctor.'"
What was that sound? Kitty looked over at Kurt, who was grinning widely and chuckling at the joke. Had he just been quoting the lines along with it? She watched his lips move along to the dialogue, his voice barely audible over the movie.
She watched him as the movie went on, though she was enjoying the film too. She watched how he would lean forward in his seat during action scenes, fists clenched, the muscles in his arms twitching as if he were barely reigning himself in from getting up and acting the scenes out himself. She'd heard that he was a skilled swordsman. It would only make sense that he would be itching to join in the fun.
His tail moved wildly during those times, though he obviously didn't realize it. It seemed that all of his energy and concentration was focused on staying still and in his seat, he didn't have any left over to restrain his enthusiastic tail. It was kind of comical, except when it almost hit her.
He took notice of that, and seemed to shrink inside himself, averting his eyes and mumbling an apology. He took his tail in his hands, pulled his feet up on the couch to sit Indian-style, and hunched his shoulders forward, taking up as little space as possible. It kind of made her feel guilty, watching him like that. Obviously, he was a vibrant young man, but he knew that she was terrified of him, and that knowledge caused him to behave like a scared puppy in order to seem as nonthreatening as possible.
It took awhile for him to relax again to resume his former entrancement from the movie, but he still kept his tail in his hands the rest of the time.
…
The end credits rolled and Kurt stood up to retrieve the movie from the DVD player and return it to its case. He stretched as he stood, his tail unfurling to its full three-and-a-half feet behind him as he rose to his full height.
Kitty noticed he was taller than she had thought. He just never stood up straight! For some reason, the thought brought a tiny smile to her lips and made her chuckle inwardly. It was strange. After sitting through one movie with him, she was starting to see him as a person, not a freak of nature to be feared, and he was kind of endearing.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" Kurt asked politely as he closed the DVD case.
"Yeah. It was really good. I can see why it's your favorite." Kitty smiled.
Kurt smiled back, offering a little laugh. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it." She seemed relaxed now. Could the magic of Errol Flynn really have cured her of her fear for him?
"You seemed really into it. I bet you wanted to be right there in the action, huh?" Kitty commented, working up to her big question. He had taken the initiative in spending time with her. Now she was going to take the initiative in getting to know him.
He blushed purple underneath his fur, his cheeks and ears noticeably burning, as he realized she had been watching him. He gave a strained laugh. "Was it that obvious?"
She was right. The more she got to know him, the more time she spent with him, the more human he seemed. Here, she even had him blushing, purple of all colors! It was kind of funny, but she restrained herself from laughing lest she embarrass him more. "Kinda. I mean, if it's been your favorite movie since you were a kid, I bet you've always been that way. Am I right?"
Kurt smiled and nodded, picking up the empty popcorn bowl. Purple still tinged his features. "Ja. It has."
Kitty grinned and pressed on, hoping to coax another blush out of him. "Did you used to pretend sword-fight when you watched it?"
Success! His face and ears brightened once more with purplish heat. Another embarrassed laugh. "I did. Errol Flynn, and pirates in general, are kind of why I learned to fence."
Perfect segue. "I heard you could fence. It makes sense why you would want to, growing up with movies like that. In fact, I kind of want to give it a try now."
His face brightened. "I could teach you some, if you wanted."
She stood up. "When can I start?"
…
"No, hold it like this." Kurt adjusted the sword in her hand. He was tentative to touch her, careful and slow with his movements around her, and he made sure his touch was light and delicate so as not to frighten her.
She seemed fine. "Okay, bring it on, you...you..." She searched for the right term. "Fuzzy...Elf."
He burst out laughing. "Fuzzy Elf? That's the best you can come up with?"
She grinned underneath her mask. Fuzzy Elf. She liked it. A fuzzy elf was a lot less scary than a demon or monster, and just thinking of the term as applied to him made him a lot less scary. He almost seemed cuddly now. "You got a problem with it?" She waved her sword mock-threateningly.
"Nein. It's just...I've never heard that one before, and I've heard everything."
Kitty felt a pang of grief for him. She could only imagine what he had been called, what he'd had to live with growing up. She'd faced a bit of name-calling in her lifetime, but it couldn't have been anything so bad as what he had endured. "Well," she kept her tone light despite her dark thoughts. "I pride myself in being original."
Another laugh. He was relaxing. She felt like she had succeeded in something. It was odd. At first, she had been scared of him, and he had obviously been trying to coax her out of her fear, but now the tables seemed reversed, as if her fearing him had made him incredibly self-conscious and in turn, slightly afraid of her. Well, they would just have to help each other out of their shells.
"All right, let's stop joking around and start this lesson." Kurt decided, his smile audible in his voice. At least he didn't have to worry about hiding his fangs when he grinned. The mask took care of that. "En guard!"
Kitty grinned as she sprang into action, executing the first move that he had taught her.
…
Kitty found that Kurt's wit was as sharp as his sword. The two laughed and quipped as they sparred, thoroughly enjoying one another's company. She found it was easier to be around him since his suit hid his appearance. The only reminders were his tail and the altered shoes and gloves he wore. His tail threw her off every time she saw it, though. He got in quite a few jabs that way.
She sighed. He couldn't be completely covered up all the time for her to be
comfortable around him. She needed to face her fears head on. But how?
Kurt interrupted her thoughts. "All right. I think that's enough for tonight, or
you'll be sore tomorrow."
Kitty took off her helmet. "Okay," she chuckled. "But I'm not some weak damsel in distress you know."
He took his off as well. "Oh, I know you're not, but if you want to get through tomorrow's Danger Room session without feeling like you're going to die, we should quit now."
"Thanks, Kurt. This has been a really great night. I haven't had this much fun in a long time."
He smiled back, his eyes soft and genuine. "You're welcome, Kitty. It was my pleasure."
She smiled and approached him. She would shake his hand. That would be sufficient to face her fears, right? "Good night, Kurt." And she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
He was just as surprised as she was. He felt a shiver run down his spine all the way to the tip of his tail. Never in a million years would he have foreseen such a thing.
Kitty pulled back, a deep blush reddening her face, complementing the purple on his. "Yeah, um, good night." And with that, she phased through the floor.
"Good night, Kitty." Kurt murmured, standing there in shock.
Kitty phased back up. "I needed to go upstairs." Her voice was quiet and soft, mirroring her embarrassment in her tone. She walked fast and awkwardly to the door.
Kurt stared after her, gathered up his things, and bamfed away.