Disclaimer & Note:This is my third year doing this & I reckon this is the best way to celebrate it.

After nearly a whole year, the wait is almost over. I was thinking of making a teaser of this chapter, but figured you've been waiting long enough. If you still remember me that is.

I do not own X-men Evolution just the original characters I'm throwing in & the words below.

*#*

He had no way of knowing how far he had run nor how long. The ink black veil that surrounded him was so dark and vast it was if he was in another place, if not world, all together. Chancing a quick glance behind him, he barely had time to gasp when the outline of a person with piercing red eyes charged at him grinning in an almost maniacal way.

'You... Are... Mine!'

Abruptly, Stefan sat up gasping as if he had just ran a marathon before clutching his eyes as the now familiar stinging sensation made its presence known.

It had been over a month since the events up in the Arctic Circle yet still his eyes would sting every morning as if the explosion had just occurred. As if that was not enough, he was now being plagued by nightmares the left him in a cold sweat for the past ten days.

All in all, it was amazing he was not going insane given how he was in a school for youngsters, like himself. To the rest of the world, he was in Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Children but in reality they were mutants, people with abilities only seen in films and comic books. According to the Professor, they were something along the lines of the vanguard of the next step in human evolution.

Stefan had been blessed, as his grandmother once said, with two abilities. One was the power to distort and rearrange energy vectors and attacks via hand contact which made it more of a defensive power than anything else. The second was an ability that had been known since medieval times known as the evil eye. When active, it allowed Stefan to use other mutants' powers for fifteen minutes, or less if using more than one power at once, for up to three times in twenty four hours.

Feeling the irritation subside, Stefan forced himself to get out of bed and get ready for the day ahead. Even on a Saturday, Logan wanted to make sure they had at least one hour in the DR before the day was through.

-*#*-

In the room across the hall, Kurt reluctantly opened his eyes as his alarm clock informed him it was eight o'clock with its shrill beeping and immediately noticed he was not alone. He was not at all surprised to find the petite brunette in his bed and arms but was still unable to fathom the why behind it all.

Before he came to the institute, Kurt had lived his life with his adoptive parents in a Romani travelling circus in Germany. Raising him as one of their own, despite looking like a blue furred devil, the Wagners looked after Kurt and introduced him to the life of the circus the moment they saw how well he kept up with Stefan one day when they were playing tag through the trees in the forest the troupe was camping by one time.

Under the alias Nightcrawler the amazing acrobatic demon, Kurt became the main attraction drawing people in from towns and cities next door to the place they were currently located. Despite his love for the circus and his family, who considered him a member in all but blood, Kurt longed for a life of normalcy like those who came to see him. He had actually been a normal person once with ten fingers and toes, no tail and no fur until he was used in an experiment by another mutant wanting to bring out the full potential of his kind when he was still a baby. It was because of this person that he was separated from his real mother and in the loving care of the Wagners.

It was not even six months ago that he then found himself going from almost facing the fires of hell to being invited to America along with his brother who actually had powers himself, much to Kurt's joy, and was given the chance to experience the life of a normal teen. Along with making new friends, homework, school tests and working as part of a group that helped those like himself, Kurt found himself falling in love with the very mutant who was currently using him as her pillow.

He had first met Kitty when Professor Xavier took him on a trip to the girl's home town when her powers first awakened. After comforting her when she fell through the floor in a state of panic, the two became firm friends and were rarely seen separate from each other whenever they were not at school. As time went on, the two's feelings for each other evolved beyond that of friendship.

There would have been a time when Kurt would have enjoyed the current closeness between them had Magneto not decided to come back into his life. As well as being the man responsible for ruining all Kurt's chances for a normal childhood, Magneto was, on all accounts, Charles Xavier's old friend turned nemesis and believed that their kind should introduce themselves to the world via forceful methods: more commonly known as world domination.

He once tried to convert Stefan only for that to backfire as Stefan showed the metal manipulator why he was known as the copy mutant as he used every power in his arsenal to beat him to almost an inch of his life. Had it not been for the rest of the X-men stepping in, Stefan might, and would, have killed him in his rage.

In a way of revenge, Magneto then tried to use him the same time he had also managed to take Scott and his younger brother Alex. Gifted with the silver tongue as Kurt heard some Americans say, Magneto tricked him into believing that everyone actually feared him using his fears to turn him into a deadly enemy. The plot almost succeeded had Kurt's feelings for Kitty overcame his anger when they came face to face as well inducing their first kiss.

However, despite everyone forgiving him, or in Logan's case giving the elf two weeks DR clean up duty, Kurt could not forgive himself of what he had done making him feel unworthy of Kitty's affections. As if knowing that he was thinking about her, Kitty slowly opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at her blue furred crush.

"Guh-ten morgen" she greeted him mispronouncing the German phrase slightly causing a small grin to appear on Kurt's features.

"That's 'goo-ten morgen'" He told her causing Kitty's smile to take on a hint of embarrassment. "But it's getting better, I'll say that"

Kitty's smile widened at the compliment and hugged him tighter before feeling him gently pry out of her grasp.

"Kurt" She called out as she saw him head towards the door to his room evidently about to grab a shower.

Kurt stopped with the handle in his grasp and turned to look at her curiously.

"Take all the time you need" She said smiling brightly. "I'll be here for you when you're ready"

"You really shouldn't" Kurt sadly muttered barely audible before managing a smile of his own. "But danke all the same, Katzchen"

It was only after Kurt had left the room did the smile fall from Kitty's face. Kitty had first started to have romantic feelings for Kurt during her first mission when she witnessed Kurt talking to Rogue in an attempt to keep her now friend and roommate preoccupied until the Professor reached them. Since then, kitty had been battling with herself trying to get over her fear of being in a relationship with someone due to past experiences. The most recent being one Lance Alvers who was now part of their enemy team Brotherhood of Mutants.

After a misinterpretation on an invite with the rest of the group that caused them to realise their feelings for each other, Kurt suggested that they wait and see what would happen to them in the future: translating into he would wait for her to overcome her fear before getting together as a couple. Now it seemed that the tables had turned and it was now Kitty to wait for Kurt to come to grips and forgive himself for what he had done. Not something she completely understood but could see why he was doing it.

She was not going to give up. Kurt had probably been willing to wait for eternity for her so the least she could do was the very same if not more. Right now though, she focused on the more immediate problems: getting something healthy in her stomach before Mr Logan came and dragged them all into the DR for a quick morning session before letting them do whatever they pleased for the rest of the day. They were still kids after all.

*#*

How's that for an appetiser? I won't be updating this until I at least get one of my current MC fics finished (maybe I should put up a poll asking which one I should finish first)

As always review if possible & until next time

Watch this space & peace out!