Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Marvel, Excalibur, Nightcrawler, Cerise, or any other characters and properties.
"Kurt?"
Kurt looked up as Cerise entered his room. He was lounging on his bed, still in his pajamas, with his laptop open and sitting on the bed in front of him. "Ja?"
She moved further into the room, closing the door behind her with her foot. "I'm bored. The weather is so very sad, and there is nothing to do." She sighed, staring out of the windows at the pouring rain.
He grinned. "I do not know about you, but I am rather enjoying our day off. Come here," His three-fingered hand patted the bed. "Come watch Netflix with me."
She looked at him for a minute, contemplating, before moving closer and putting a knee onto the bed, about to climb onto it.
Kurt scooted back, making room for her in front of him, when he noticed her hesitation. "What's the matter?"
"My clothes will be uncomfortable."
His eyes traveled down her Amazonian form. She was dressed in her armored bodice and skin-tight pants, just as she was every day. He could imagine the bodice wouldn't be very comfortable to lie down in and try to cuddle. Were those the only clothes she owned?
He got up and went to his dresser. "Here, you can wear some of my clothes." She could go downstairs and get some of her own, but it was a lazy day, and this was easier. He took out a T-shirt and handed it to her. "I am afraid my trousers all have holes in the back." He apologized with a smile.
"That's fine." Her face was sincere. She really didn't mind.
He gave her something of a look and blinked. "Okay." His tail snaked down to open the drawer where he kept his pajama pants and grabbed a pair. "Here you go."
She beamed at him. "Thank you." With that, she began to remove her bodice.
Kurt made some kind of incomprehensible sound of surprise, his eyes wide and eyebrows up. He immediately turned around to give her some privacy.
"Does my body not please you, lover?" Cerise asked, sounding hurt.
"No, no." His tail twitched with nervousness. "It is just that, on Earth, a gentleman does not watch a lady change."
She slipped off the bodice and put on his shirt, smiling once it was over her head. It smelled heavily of him, strong, spicy, and masculine. "But we are a couple, yes? We are free to enjoy one another's bodies." Her pants came off next, and she stepped into his, not minding the hole in the back one bit. She was wearing underwear; it would not be uncomfortable. "I am finished."
He turned back around, tentative at first, as if he thought that she might be trying to trick him into looking at her naked. It's not as if he didn't want to, but there were certain restrictions to uphold. He didn't want to have to call his priest back home for confession and admit to that.
When he finally did turn around and look at her, he was struck by how perfect she looked in his clothes. Her breasts hung loose, unencumbered by a bra or the support of her bodice, and she filled out the shirt nicely, even if it was a bit baggy on her. It was baggy on him, too. The pants were a little short, but she was taller than him, anyway. He smiled. "You look lovely. Come to bed." It would be the first time ever that they had cuddled like this, and he was looking forward to it. Physical intimacy was very important to him in a relationship. It was how he expressed and received affection best. With Cerise, there was no shortage of such intimacy.
She climbed in first. "I still do not understand why my body repulses you."
"It does not repulse me, Liebchen; quite the opposite, in fact, but it is just that, on Earth, it is seen as…inappropriate for couples who are unmarried to see each other without clothes." He tried to explain.
"But do not Brian and Meggan practice intercourse even though they are not yet married?" She asked innocently as he crawled into bed behind her.
"Er, well, yes, but most people, I suppose, do not condone that. I, personally, do not practice it. It is a religious conviction."
She turned to look at him. "So will you not engage in sexual relations with me unless we are married?"
"No." He offered an apologetic smile.
"Hmmm. Interesting." She mused before continuing, "On Shaskofrugnon, we are free to have sex with whomever we please. It is seen as natural and pleasurable. Why do you refrain?"
"Well, there is the issue of sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and, personally, I feel that multiple partners can demean the union of two people who are in love. It goes against what I believe, as well. It is not holy, not meant to be. I could go into a very long, detailed explanation of why my belief system states this, but…" He struggled how to word this. He wasn't sure Cerise would completely understand. So many Earth concepts were entirely new to her. Thankfully, he didn't have to provide a reason, as she interrupted his train of thought.
"I respect your beliefs, Nightcrawler, for whatever reasons you may have, even if I have no diseases." She smiled, laying a hand on the side of his face.
"Oh, I did not think you did. I just meant in general…"
"But what are pregnancies?" She blurted again.
That's right, Kurt thought. She's never seen children. "Remember how Kitty told you that human beings do not 'emerge from the source'?" Whatever that was.
She nodded.
"Instead, our offspring grow inside a woman for nine months. Here, sex is not just for pure recreation. It is how we reproduce. So, a baby is created, and it grows inside the woman, its mother, and then it is born, a teeny, tiny little thing that can do nothing for itself. It cannot even speak. As time goes by, it grows and learns, until it becomes an adult." He really didn't feel like giving his girlfriend a sex talk, much less a crash course on human development, so he did his best to explain the miracle of life in as little time as possible. Netflix was calling his name.
Her face was scrunched up in a mix of disgust and horror, her nose wrinkled, mouth puckered, and eyes wide. "That sounds terrible."
The response was so unexpected that he actually laughed. He had been anticipating more questions. "It is not as bad as it sounds, I promise. Babies and children are actually very cute and endearing, and their parents often say that raising them is a fulfilling duty. I hope to have children some day."
The look of disgust dropped off her face, replaced by pure sadness. "I cannot give you children, Nightcrawler. I am…unable. My race does not reproduce as yours does."
He took her face in one of his hands. "I know. It is all right. It is too early in our relationship to be talking about children anyway, and I am not planning on having them any time soon. You can relax." He smiled softly. "Besides, there is always adoption. That is where the parents, or parent, raise a baby that they did not create, but whose biological parents either did not want or could not raise. I was adopted."
She smiled back at him. "Then it must be a good thing."
"It is." He assured her. "Now, can we watch Nanny 911?"
She turned over to face the screen. "What is that?"
"It's a show about parents whose kids are out of control, so they get British nannies, ladies who are paid to take care of children for the parents, to come and teach them how to better parent their children. Do not worry, not all children are like this." He explained, the grin evident in his voice. There was a pause before he turned the show back on, finding that it was impossible to see the screen thanks to Cerise's height and tall feathers. "Liebchen? I think we are going to have to switch places." How awkward. He'd never been the little spoon before.
"Why? Are you uncomfortable?" She turned to look at him.
"No, but I cannot see."
"Oh," She nodded, silent for a moment as if she were thinking about it. "Let us swap, then."
She got up and he scooted forward, and then she laid back down, her chest against his back and one of her arms draped over him, the exact same position he'd had with her minutes before. "Can you see now, lover?"
"Yes, thank you, Cerise." This was going to take some getting used to. She was only two inches taller than him, but her feathers put her over six feet. He felt so small being held by her, and he could feel the strength and power that rested in her muscles, in the arm that she had clutching him to her. It was odd, to say the least, but also kind of nice.
Reaching forward, he hit the space bar on his computer and resumed the show. Screaming kids and exhausted parents filled the screen. The two watched in silence for a minute when Kurt heard, "I do not think I want to have children." come from behind him.