A/N: Written for my own challenge, though the song was given to me by my good buddy Nimh, on the Writing Junkie Forum. It's for the Rise Against Challenge and is written to the song Torches.
The angels dance like feathers float
They're here to see and to be seen
The clock strikes two
The music slows and the angels slowly don their wings
Once outside they all pair off
And hand in hand they leave but I'm still waiting
Yeah, but I'm still waiting
~ Torches by Rise Against
"I'm sorry, Todd, but we're all leaving. I can't just not go with them! They're my family!" Kurt says, but his eyes never meet Todd's.
And Todd just stares, large golden eyes filled with hurt and hands clenched tight in his pockets, because he doesn't really know what to say to that. That familiar feeling of betrayal is churning inside of him again - and really, he should have been expecting the other mutant to pull something like this. Everyone did eventually, Kurt just took longer than most.
They're my family.
"I thought..." He starts, and then he stops himself and shakes his head. Brown hair falls into his face as a scowl replaces the shocked gape he'd been sporting. "You know what? Never mind, dawg. Just go off with the rest of yo' X-geeks."
Hurt flashes on Kurt's face and he opens his mouth - ready to defend himself and fire something, an insult maybe, back at the younger boy.
Todd has already turned to leave.
~~~~~X~~~~~
Tabby ran a hand through her hair and sighed; she wasn't sure what else they could do or what she should say at this point. It wasn't like they had much of a choice at this point. If they didn't move, didn't leave Bayville the first chance they got, then they might not be able to leave at all.
"I think,' she said. 'That we don't have much of a choice, Lance. I mean, they're offering to pay for all of us! Where else would we get enough money to get out of this dump?"
"Yeah. I guess..." Lance leaned back in the chair, not paying the creak it gave out any mind. If it could hold Freddie without giving way, it wasn't going to collapse underneath of him - especially not now, when he'd lost so much weight.
"So what's stopping you from just saying 'yes'?" Tabby asked. "We've been at this for hours and that's the only answer I can come up with."
Because, even though she didn't want to have to move again, continuing to live in Bayville wasn't an option. Not now that Mystique and Magneto had both taken off on them, leaving Lance to drop out of school and try to get a job just so food could be kept on the table. Not now that the Friends Of Humanity had become so active in their little town. And it had, the catastrophe of last week proved that.
"It's just..." Lance paused, tilting his head up to stare at the crumbling ceiling, and gave a deep sigh. "What about Todd? He says he doesn't want to leave here. We can't make him go and I don't want to just leave him here on his own."
"Maybe we'll have to." And it hurts Tabby so bad to say that but, when it comes down to her life or that of the younger mutant, hers will always come first.
And Todd just stands at the top of the stairs, hurt but not really surprised.
~~~~~X~~~~~
"So why're you packin' all that shit again?" Todd asked from his spot sprawled out on Kurt's bed. He'd been there for almost ten minutes and Kurt still hadn't given him much more than a glance. It was starting to really get on his nerves - he'd come all the way over from the Boarding House and wasn't even going to be spoken too?
Kurt didn't look up from the spot in his closet that he was rooting through. "I can't tell you yet, Todd. Proffesor X's rules, not mine."
Snorting, Todd sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. "Since when 'ave you evah listened to what he tells ya?"
Kurt bit his bottom lip as he picked up a shirt off the floor - it might not have been clean but it had been a gift from Amanda way back when and he wanted to bring it with him. "I just have to listen to him this time."
"Why?" Todd repeated.
And Kurt just shrugged and shoved the might-be-clean tee-shirt into the open dufflebag by his feet. "Because."
"Because what?" Todd said, slinging his legs over the side of the bed and pushing himself up. He wobbled for a moment as pain shot up his spine and both legs went numb; barely keeping himself from reaching out and steadying himself with the wall.
Kurt just shrugged at him. "I just can't, alright?"
"Nah. Nah, dog, it aint' a'ight." Todd shook his head at Kurt, who had finally looked up from his packing to stare at him. "If you're plannin' on goin' somewhere, 'least you can do is tell me."
"Todd - " Kurt started, a sigh twisting into his voice, but Todd shook his head again.
"I'm outta here, dawg. Why don'tcha come find me when you're not being such an ass?" Todd limped his way past Kurt, slamming the door shut behind him.
~~~~~X~~~~~
Kurt takes a deep breath as he stands in front of the plane. It's a simple one, not black and sleek like the X-Jet, and that almost relaxes him. After all, the last plane he got on that looked like this was the one that brought him over from Germany - and that had turned out so amazing he can almost convince himself this flight will be the same.
The other members of his team have already boarded for the most part. Jamie is standing a few feet away from him, hands shoved in his pocket and light blue eyes scanning the empty lot, and Logan is waiting at the gate of the mansion. It should be easy for him to get on the plane and join them all. To just fly away and not look back. In all honesty, Bayville hasn't been that great to him.
But he can't.
He feels empty standing there. Lost and alone, like Scott isn't saving him a seat in the in front row and Evan doesn't want to show him a video that he took. Like the plane is empty instead of crowded with nearly all of the inhabitants of the mansion that used to house Xavier's School For Gifted Children. Like something important is being forgotten - but for the life of him, Kurt can't figure out what. It isn't until the familar clunking of Lance's jeep can be heard coming up the driveway that it hits him.
Todd isn't there.
Turning around, a grin slipping onto his face, Kurt goes to wave at the run-down jeep. Lance is driving it, as always, and Tabby sits in the seat beside him. Pietro and Wanda are on either side of Freddie in the back. They all look tired, Kurt notices. And then his hand falls to his side as he realizes that Todd isn't perched inbetween Lance and Tabby like he should be.
~~~~~X~~~~~
Todd let out a groan as he forced his eyes open. They felt heavy and his vision was blurry, something that no amount of harsh blinking fixed. The florescent light that was shining down on him didn't help, rather it added to the pounding in his head and just encouraged him to let his eyes fall shut again.
There wasn't a thing about him that didn't hurt right then. A dull, throbbing sort of pain flowed through his entire body. Todd's mind really wasn't working right either. He couldn't recall why he hurt so badly or how he had gotten to where he was. For that matter, he didn't even know where he was.
And that thought sent a surge of fear through him. He could recall, distantly, the last time he woke up and didn't know where he was; what his mind would let him remember of that time, and it wasn't much, wasn't a fond memory. But it was enough to encourage the boy to force his eyes open again, ignore the blaring light when it hit his eyes, and move.
In one fluid motion, Todd pushed himself up and moved to swing his legs over the side of the stiff matress that he'd been laying on - only for a scream to force its way between his chapped lips as he crumpled in on himself, arms wrapping around his sides and head falling forward as he gasped for air. It felt like he was on fire. Every inch of his body burned and his mind just shut down. He couldn't do a thing but sit there and try to quell the feeling of knives in his chest as his body trembled.
Suddenly there were soft, furry hands on either of his shoulders, gently pushing him back down against the mattress. Todd caught a flash of blue before the strong lighting forced him to close his eyes again.
"It's okay, Todd. Just don't move. I'll go get Professor McCoy." Kurt said, pulling away from the injured mutant.
Todd didn't even think about what he was doing. His hand seemed to move of its own accord, reaching out and weakly wrapping shaking fingers around a blue wrist. "Wait." He rasped, and even that one word hurt his raw throat. "Stay?"
Kurt hovered for a moment. His golden eyes shifted from the door of the room, to Todd, and then back to the door. Then he gave a soft sigh and sat down gingerly on the edge of the younger mutants bed. "Alright, Todd, just try to relax okay? I won't go."
It wasn't like Professor Xavier wouldn't have sensed that Todd was awake.
~~~~~X~~~~~
"Just tell Lance that I'll be there later, a'ight? You all don't gotta wait up for me or nothin'." Todd said.
And Tabby just gave him a knowing smile. The one that always made Todd mad because, really, she had no clue what was going on. She just liked to think that she did. "Alright, Toddles. You go have your fun and I'll go have your share of pizza. Sounds good to me."
Todd grumbled and scowled at the nickname but didn't say anything. After the first two years of the blonde refusing to call him anything else, he'd just given up. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway. He'd heard plenty of others. "Yeah. Fun."
The smile slid off of Tabby's face. "What? Aren't you off to hang-out with Blue?"
Todd gave her a shrug and grunted again. He didn't feel like talking about it, especially not to Tabby. He wasn't stupid, contrary to popular belief, and he'd learnt a long time ago that nothing said to Tabby was ever kept a secret. The girl had a bigger mouth then Kitty did - and that was saying something because even Lance admitted that his girlfriend was a gossip-monger.
"What's wrong Toddles?" Tabby questioned.
Todd just ducked his head, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked past her. "I'll see you later, Boom-Boom."
He didn't turn around when she shouted at him, clearly annoyed and maybe just a tad bit worried sounding. Todd just turned the first corner he saw, determined on getting away from Bayville High and the students beginning to mill out of it. The day had been beyond bad, like most of them were since Mystique dissapeared and Lance dropped out, and he just wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and the red brick building.
Maybe he'd left early because he didn't want to be caught in the crowd of other students. Maybe it was because he wanted more time to himself before night started to fall and he had to scurry off to the Boarding House. More likely, and he hated to admit this even to himself, it was because he didn't want to have to look at Kurt and the other X-Men again that day.
So he walked down the street and he stewed on the words he'd heard exchanged earlier and he didn't take notice that the sun was beginning to set. He didn't hear the soft set of footsteps coming up behind him or the slight metallic clicking noise. But he felt the prick of pain in his neck, and the seering burn that followed, and spun around in time to see a man lowering a small gun of sorts.
The man wore all white. White pants, white jacket, white hat. He sneered at Todd and lowered his weapon, idly tucking it back inside of his jacket. The last thing the young Brotherhood Boy saw before he blacked out was the three black letters on the left side of the the mans white jacket.
FOH.
Friends Of Humanity.
~~~~~X~~~~~
"What do you mean 'he isn't coming'?" Kurt asks, and there's a look of almost terror in his wide golden eyes.
His question earns a scowl from Lance. The older boy looks bad, with crescents forming under his eyes and worry-lines that make him look older than he actually is. "I mean what I just said. Todd isn't coming with us."
"But - but why?" Kurt asks. It isn't a demand for an answer, like he'd meant it to be, but more of a whine. More despondant and less angry.
The scowl turns into a sneer, angry and hurt at the same time, and Lance shoulders past the disguised mutant and towards the plane. "If you don't already know, then I'm not telling you. Figure it out on your own."
Pietro doesn't even look at Kurt as he follows after Lance; no bags in his arms because said mutant is carrying both his own and Pietro's. Pale hands are shoved into the pockets of his too-big jacket, one that looks suspiciously close to the one Evan claimed to have lost the month prior, and his eyes are glued to the ground as he walks. Wanda at least has the curtousy to glare at him as she shoulders her dufflebag and goes to catch up to her twin.
"Tabby?" Kurt turns a confused gaze onto the blonde, who is carrying both her own bag and Freddie's, in hopes that she'll explain what's going on.
All Tabby does is give a small shake of her head.
~~~~~X~~~~~
"Turn to page three hundred and sixty four and begin reading. I expect the entire chapter finished by the end of class. You'll have to actually pay attention to what you're reading today because I want an essay written up on the subjects covered." Thomas Crane, Bayville Highs Social Study teacher, told the class. He didn't look up from the book he was reading, one which, judging by the bright orange cover and the cursive writing as the title, wasn't school curriculum.
Most of the class groaned and complained as they fished their books out of their bags. The thudidng of the heavy volume being dropped onto the desk and the swish of pages being half-heartedly turned filled the room.
Todd, not owning a book for this class that was legible, just went back to absently scribbling in his notebook. It wasn't like he could get a good grade on the essay even if he did study. Mr. Thomas never gave the Brotherhood Boys a passing score - so why bother putting out the effort when he didn't even have a chance at the reward?
Scribbling something down on the half-empty page, Todd tore it from his book and crumpled it into a ball. The ball was then tossed, skillfully and unnoticed, at the desk in front of him. It landed right in the center of it, in the middle of the spread open book. Kurt paused in his reading to pick it up and Todd watched as he unrolled it and read the words written on it.
Wanna hang out later?
But Kurt didn't write down an answer on it, like he usually did. Instead, he crumpled it back up and dropped on the floor by his feet. An annoyed look was cast over his shoulder, directed at Todd, and then he went back to reading the book in front of him.
And Todd just blinked at him for a moment, taken back, before slouching down in his seat with a sigh.
~~~~~X~~~~~
It isn't until the plane has taken off and been in the air for several hours that Kurt manages to get someone to tell him what is going on. It is Tabby, unsurprisingly, who finally motions him over to the seat in front of her; the one beside her is taken up by Amara, who has finally fallen into a fitful sleep against Tabby's shoulder.
"Why didn't he come with us, Tabby?" Kurt asks as he sits down - because he just knows that's why the blonde called him over.
Tabby bites at her bottom lip for a moment. She doesn't want to be the one to have to tell Kurt this. She would much rather it be Lance or Freddie, both of which were closer to the younger mutant than she was, or even Wanda with her brisque attitude and sharp words. But she is the one that Todd asked to do this and, if she does nothing else for the other mutant, then she will do this one favor.
"Tabby?" Kurt repeats.
"I guess there are a couple of reasons he didn't come with us, Blue." Tabby finally says. "Bayville's been the kindest to him out of everywhere else he's lived and I guess he just didn't want to leave it. And, you know, he's still waiting around for Mystique to show up again."
Kurt blinks. He didn't know that. "He is?"
"Yeah. Something about paying her back for helping him out before." That isn't why he's waiting for Mystique and Tabby knows it. She knows that, really, Todd is staying because over the years the blue-skinned mutant has become almost like a mother to him; and he almost like a son to her. She's the only reason that Magneto never kicked him out and he, more than once, made it known how he felt about everyone else writing her off as dead. Tabby just doesn't think that's important at the moment.
"That...That's why he stayed? Because he's waiting for Mystique to show up again?" There's a heavy sense of betrayal making itself known in Kurt's stomach and it comes through in his voice.
Tabby shakes her head. "He's staying because he wants to stay. And, partly, because of you."
It's like a sucker punch to the gut, right then, and Kurt finds himself stuttering when he speaks. "M-me?"
"Mhmm." Tabby nods and closes her eyes. "He said, well, he didn't want me to tell you everything he said. But he does have a message for you."
"What is it?" Kurt demands.
"He says he'll be there when you're ready to light the torches." It's clear that the blonde doesn't get the message she was asked to deliver but her words are broken sounding all the same.
Kurt doesn't even try to stop the tears when they start to prick at his eyes and run down his face.
~~~~~X~~~~~
It's one of the rare days of sun and warmth that Bayville has in the autumn and Kurt and Todd are taking full advantage of it. Instead of rushing off to watch a movie or challenge each other in a video game up in Kurt's bedroom, the two boys have made their way to the local park. Then, ignoring the stares that always come when the two go somewhere together, they found a spot on one of the few hills and stretched out.
For nearly an hour they've layed there in silence. But it isn't an uncomfortable one like when Kurt was with Amanda, nor is it an awkward one like what descends when Todd spends the day out with the other mutants at the Boarding House. They're both just taking in the warmth and the sun - because niether of them are fans of the cold, wet weather that comes every October; Kurt because his fur always holds in the dampness and Todd due to his mutation.
Eventually, Kurt shifted so he wass stretched out on one side and facing Todd. "I've decided that I'm not going to stay here forever."
"Whadda ya mean?" Todd questioned, giving a hard blink as he turns away from the cloud he'd been staring at.
"I mean in Bayville." Kurt explained. "It's too small here, Todd! I want to go out somewhere else and see what I can do. Somewhere big like California."
A chill ran through Todd. He knew, of course, that Kurt wouldn't always live in their small little town. The other boy was too good for that, especially with that fancy watch of his. He could go anywhere and do anything. "I figured ya would, dawg."
It was Kurt's turn to blink this time. "You did?"
"Yep." Todd nodded and closed his eyes. "You got a chance at actually having a life somewhere. I knew you'd take it eventually." And even though he tried, Todd wasn't able to keep the bitterness out of his words - because, really, Kurt wasn't just talking about leaving Bayville. He was talking about leaving him too.
It took a moment for Kurt to gather himself up enough to speak again. "Well, I mean, I'll come back eventually."
"Uhuh." Todd muttered, clearly unconvinced.
"I will!" Kurt exclaimed, and then he said the first thing that came to his mind. "And when I come back for good, the two of use are going to light some torches out here and spend the whole night!"
Todd rolled onto his side too and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well..." Kurt shrugged. "It would be cool, wouldn't it? We can light a bunch of torches out here and bring a sleepingbag or something and then we'll stay right here all night. I'll even get Jubilee to bake us an apple pie!"
Todd wasn't sure why but he was completely taken aback by the other boys words. "What makes you think I'll still be here?"
Kurt faltered and the grin slipped from his face. "You're going to leave too?"
And Todd shook his head and rolled onto his back again. "Nah, dawg, I'm not gonna leave too. I was just kiddin'. I'll wait out here for ya and when ya come back we'll come light some torches."
~~~~~X~~~~~
"I don't think this is gonna be a good idea, Fuzzy." Todd said, eyeing the massive yard before him with a disdainful look.
Kurt shuffled his feet, scraping the toe of his sneakers on the asphalt. "Ja, it's probably not."
"So why're we doin' it?" Todd questioned, arching an eyebrow at the currently disguised boy.
"Well..." Kurt started. Then he stopped, looked up at the mansion and then back to Todd, and started again. "Because I want to. I mean, you can't keep crawling in through my window all of the time, Todd. You're going to get hurt or walk in on me changing or something."
"You act like that'd be a bad thing, Fuzz-butt." Todd grinned at him, only half-teasing. "Or new or somethin'. Seein' you change ain't that big of a difference from seein' you shower."
Kurt's face turned red and he scowled at Todd, crossing his arms over his chest as he did. "Ja, and I smacked you when you did that, didn't I? I still can't believe you did that, Todd!"
Todd shrugged. "Ain't my fault you didn't lock the door."
"I told you that - no! Stop trying to change the subject!" Kurt said angrily. "We aren't talking about that right now! We're talking about this." He motioned to the building in front of them.
The grin slid from Todd's face and he went back to scowling. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I already told ya what I thought of it."
Kurt sighed. Sticking out his lower lip, he pulled on the most pathetic look he could muster. "Please, Todd? It's just one dinner. And if it doesn't go well, I won't ever make you come in through the front door again."
Like always, Todd relented. "Fine. But if anyone of 'em starts comin' at me, I'm outta there."
"If anyone starts coming at you, I'll kick their asses." And Kurt was so very serious right then that Todd couldn't help but give him a small smile.
Maybe it was going to go alright after all.
~~~~~X~~~~~
After Tabby gives him the message from Todd, Kurt retreats to an empty pair of seats at the very back of the plane. He pulls both legs up onto the seat with him, wraps his arms and his tail around them, and lets his chin rest on his knees. There are still tears running down his face, leaving wet tracks in his dark blue fur.
Eyes turn to him when he lets out a strangled sob - clenching his eyes shut and hurying his face into his kness, trying so very hard not to cry and make a scene but completely failing at it. Evan glances back at him and then faces forward again and wraps his arm around Pietro, tugging the speedster against his side and then purposfully looking out the window. Scott goes to stand up and walk towards him but Jean lays her hand on his knee and shakes her head; it's just radiating off of Kurt that he doesn't want to talk to anyone right then. Rouge hugs her arms tightly to herself and burrows deeper into the uncomfortable seat, determined not to even let herself look back at her brother.
Seconds pass and then minutes and Kurt just sits there, crying to himself. He cannot believe that they have actually left Todd behind. That Lance didn't make him come. That Xavier never went and spoke to him. That he didn't go and make sure Todd packed up his few belongings and came with them. And he cannot believe that he is the reason that Todd stayed behind - but he is and even Tabby can see that, because Kurt has just been horrible to Todd these past few weeks. The stress and the peer pressure had finally gotten to him and he'd done nothing but push the other mutant away, thinking that they would be able to make up during the flight to Ohio.
But he can't. And he can't get himself to stop thinking about it. And the tears won't stop coming, the ache in his chest won't go away, and Kurt is just absolutely miserable.
The plane ride stretches on for hours.
~~~~~X~~~~~
Todd couldn't believe that he was doing this. That he was sitting under the bleachers in the middle of the day. Skipping lunch, which also counted as his breakfast, and blowing off Lance's offer to treat everyone to Gut-Buster burgers. And it wasn't even because he was out grabbing some extra cash or vandalising a teachers car. No. Those things would all make sense, unlike what he was actually doing.
Kicking at an old soda can, he leaned against one of the metal beams holding up the stand. And then he waited some more. Longer and longer, until he was certain that the other mutant wasn't going to show up and it was all just useless.
"Not like it isn't already useless." He muttered to himself angrily. He kicked out at the can again, harder this time, and sent it flying out from under the bleachers. There was a thunk as it hit something, followed immidatly by a loud cry of pain.
Todd straightened up and glanced from side to side. Right then, that was his last moment to run. To just forget about this whole stupid idea of his and run without looking back. Play it off as a prank or something. And, just as he was about to leave, the other boy joined him under the bleachers.
"Todd?" Kurt asked, instantly on edge. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh..." Everything that Todd had planned on saying to Kurt flew from his mind.
The other mutant crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "I told Evan that I was going to be late! Did you see someone else under here? I got this note and - ugh, why am I even asking you? You probably wouldn't tell me even if you did see them."
Todd just gaped at him.
Running a hand through his raven hair, Kurt gave a heavy sigh. "It looks like Scott was right. Someone was pranking the fuzzy-dude." Then he turned to leave; after all, there wasn't any reason to stay there if the writer of the note wasn't actually going to show.
And still, Todd couldn't remember what he'd been going to say. His mind kept drawing a blank on words, any word actually, and he just stood there as Kurt turned his back to him. His mind was still empty when his feet moved of their own accord, closing the space between himself and the other mutant, and still empty when he reached out and grabbed Kurt's shoulder.
The blue-furred boy spun around. "What are you do-"
And Todd's mind was almost peacefully blank when he leaned up and pressed his lips against Kurt's.
~~~~~X~~~~~
The plane lands and everyone departs. Some in groups of three and four. Most in a group of two. But everyone leaves and they all leave to a different place. The plane might have landed in Ohio but that was only because it was where the teachers, save Logan, would be staying. Everyone else, X-Man and Brotherhood alike, were scattering to all corners of the globe.
And Kurt really doesn't know where else to go or what else to do, so he takes the first flight he can get and goes back to Germany. The country isn't quite home anymore but it will have to do.
~~~~~X~~~~~
It was stupid. It was so completely beyond stupid. It was to the point that Todd was about ready to label himself with the same level of stupidity that Lance was whenever he was around Kitty. And, really, that might not be so bad if the two situations weren't so very similar with each other.
Lance didn't just like Kitty. He loved her. And, because Kitty was an X-Man, they had all sorts of issues. Relationships like that just didn't work. Not when you were fighting for different teams and different sides and different beliefs. It didn't matter if you really believed in them or not. It still didn't work out right.
That was what Todd had told himself all night as he layed in bed. It was what he'd told himself all morning as he layed there. What he told himself then, at nearing four in the afternoon, still in bed.
Relationships like that didn't work out.
He could look at anyone in his house and tell that. At Lance or Peitro or Freddie - they had all met the same fate when they pined for someone on Xavier's team. Tabby was the only one having any luck with it. But she was Tabby and she always had luck when it came to things like that so she didn't really count.
And yet Todd still couldn't get that image out of his mind. Concerned gold eyes set on a blue-furred face. Asking if he was okay, was he hurt, like they hadn't been mock-enemies since they met. Sure, he and Kurt had really always just played some odd game of tag when they fought but that was beside the point. The point was that he couldn't like Kurt.
He just couldn't.
~~~~~X~~~~~
It has been three years since Kurt set foot in America. Three years since he saw any of his former team-mates and his old teachers. Three years since he last slept in Bayville. And now, on the twentieth of October, he is back to see all three.
The hate against mutants has dropped drastically in the past year and a half. They still aren't accepted in very many places but the hate isn't shown as violently. Kurt even saw a report that said the Friends Of Humanity had been almost completely disbanded. So, in celebration of all of this, Xavier is hosting a reunion of sorts at the building that used to be his school.
The flight from Berlin to Washington is long but it is the flight from Washington to Bayville that really frays Kurt's nerves. That second plane ride seems to stretch on and on while the watch on his wrist, the same one that doubles as his holograph and was a gift from Xavier when he was but fifteen, seems to have slowed almost to a complete stop. It's silly and he knows it is. Getting this worked up over returning to it isn't the town that Kurt is anxious about seeing again, but the boy he left behind in it.
During the entire three hour flight, that silly promise he made all those years ago is all that he can think about.
We'll light torches.
And he can't help but wonder how long Todd actually waited for him before he moved on.
When the plane lands, Kurt is met by an over-joyed Jubilee. She throws her arms around his neck and pulls him into a crushing hug. Then promptly latches his suitcase to the back of her motorcycle and tells him to get on behind her. He doesn't think he's ever been more afraid in his life - and is never more grateful to see the large, black gates that mark Xavier's Institue then when she pulls up in front of them.
They leave his luggage hooked to her motorcycle and he follows her in. Says hello to all his old friends and marvels at how much they've changed. Jamie and his piercing. Amara's new out-going personality. Kitty's shining diamond ring that she proudly shows off to Jean - who is sporting her own slightly differing version of it.
But the one face he wants to see isn't there and Kurt finds that he just can't get into the same mood everyone else is. Yes, he's glad to see everyone. He's even more glad that they all seem to have done so well. It just isn't the same when he doesn't have someone to lean on or a warm hand to hold, like the majority of them all do.
Half-way through the party he slips outside and away from the mansion. The streets of Bayville are deserted as Kurt walks down them. He has his hands shoved deep into his pockets and his eyes locked onto the sky above him. The stars aren't as bright here as they are in Berlin, he notes, but that thought is really just to distract himself from the knot that's forming in his chest.
He doesn't know why he's even bothering to check out here. If Todd didn't show up to the reunion, then it's likely that he isn't even in Bayville at the moment. That's the sensible thing to think and, in the back of Kurt's mind, obviously the truth.
Still, when he walks through the rusted iron gates that mark Bayville's poor excuse for a park, Kurt can't help the small flicker of hope that he feels. Like most of the streets that he'd walked down, the park is completely deserted. It is also overgrown with weeds and wildflowers, daisys and dandelions and these little pink buds that look sort of like a ballet slipper, and the trees have gotten wild looking. The benches that used to be scattered across the park have fallen into a state of disrepair; moss grows across the seat and pieces of wood have fallen off of the backs and dissapeared, the metal armpieces are rusted and breaking off, missing screws and nails alike. It's hard to see the place that held so many fond memories look like this.
Kurt makes his way towards the back of the park - towards the one hill that he spent so many summer evenings on, relaxing and playing and laughing and being the kid that he'd never really gotten the chance to be. There are a few oak trees growing closely together, blocking his view of the hilltop. He has to force his way through the low-hanging branches, which snag at his shrit and grab at his hair as though they're trying to hold him back and stop him from going any further, to get to the spot in the park he's been longing to see.
And when he does, he is met by the sight of two tall wooden torches glowing brightly against the black sky. Kurt's heart soars and then he's laughing as he runs forward, wrapping his arms around the man standing between them, and burrowing his face into the crook of Todd's neck.
"Mien gott, Todd." Kurt whispers as he pulls away, and that's all that he can say because nothing else seems to fit the situation.
Todd has gotten taller as the years passed, though he is still a little shorter than Kurt. His hair has grown out, down to his shoulders, and holds the look of grease that it had when they were teenagers. But it is his face that catches Kurt's attention the most - with the sunken in eyes and the black crescents under them and the cigarette that hangs out of the corner of his mouth.
"Good ta see you too, Fuzzy." Todd says. He doesn't pull away from Kurt, but he doesn't return the hug either. "S been a while."
"Mien gott, Todd." Kurt repeats, and that is what his mind seems to be stuck on. "I didn't think that you would actually been here."
Todd snorts and, as Kurt lowers his arms, reaches a hand up and pulls the cigarette out of his mouth. "I told ya that I'd be here to light the torches, didn't I? 'Sides, it ain't like I really had any where else to go."
Again, Kurt can't think of anything to say. A lot has happened since the last time he saw Todd, so much that he would love to tell the other boy about, but at that moment nothing seems like it would be the right thing to say. So he goes with something simple and true. "I missed you."
Todd gives him a grin. "Yeah, dawg. I know ya did." a pause. "I missed ya too, though."
And Kurt still can't think of anything to say so he just laughs again and wraps his arms around Todd. Smiles. And then he leans down and presses his mouth against the other boy's - and the taste of nicotine and cheap alchohol fills his mouth, blending in to the unique taste that has always been Todd. Todd snakes his own arms around Kurt and leans against him; warm in a way that he has not been in a very long time.
Behind them both, the two torches burn bright.
Well if my hand could block the sun, would we ever wake up?
And if I turned back all these clocks would that be time enough?
~ Torches by Rise Against