I had to wait ten minutes before Kurt was ready to go. He couldn't teleport us to my place because he'd never been their before. Plus he said that the distance could kill him. So I choose to wait for him to cover up. Honestly I thought the poor guy would burn to death in all the layers he had on. Over top of his long coat he'd shrugged on a large trench coat with a hood. Grabbing a beat up ball cap he jammed it on his head and pulled his hood over top of it shrouding his head in shadow. The only thing he couldn't hide was his eyes. They still glowed a piercing yellow.
"You must have great night vision." I mused. Kurt looked startled at the observation.
"How did you know?" I heard myself stutter embarrassed.
"Its just that your eyes, they glow like..."
"A demon" Kurt provided sadly.
"I was going to say a wolf. Wolves are my favorite animals." Kurt barked out a short laugh flashing gleaming white fangs, but I was shocked by his laugh. It was loud and rich, the laugh of someone who loved life not someone who spent his days hiding in the dark. Soon we were walking down the street to my apartment, taking every short cut I knew to minimize the chance of someone seeing Kurt. When we finally reached my place I thanked the good Lord that I'd remembered to to clean the other day. Not that anyone would have noticed, it was very sparsely furnished.
"Your home is wery... small." Kurt finished kindly and I chuckled at his honesty.
"I know, but make yourself at home." He slung off his two coats and laid them politely over the arm of my sofa. As quickly as I could I went and found the biggest most comfortable clothes I owned ( they could substitute for night clothes for Kurt tonight) I took those and a spare blanket. Putting the small pile on the couch I said quickly.
"You can use these tonight." Giving he some privacy I then went to my kitchen to get something to drink thinking about how awkward I felt. I'd never had a guest over before, but I guess I could start by getting him some hot chocolate. When I went back to the living room it looked like Kurt was eying over a dvd case. Sneaking over his shoulder I saw it was my copy of "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn staring as the thief himself. Kurt glanced over his shoulder and jumped a foot in the air when he saw me. I laughed myself silly at that and finally spoke when I got my breath.
"Do you like that version?" Kurt nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Errol Flynn is my hero. My inspiration to learn the art of fencing." He smiled so brightly I thought it would blind me.
"Would you like to watch it?" With the expression he gave I didn't need an answer. I just popped in the movie and we watched the opening credits roll. Kurt wasn't kidding when he said he was a fan. He was grinning ear to ear and quoting along with Flynn word for word. I got enthralled too laughing at the jokes the characters shared, and I sighed when I watched Robin kiss Maid Marian. I caught Kurt looking at me from the corner of my eye and when I turned to look at him he cleared his throat.
"You are a bit of a romantic Bethany?" I smiled to myself looking back at the screen.
"I think every woman is at heart. Although it's not everyday someone meets a person as charming as Errol Flynn." I caught a smile on his face before returning my attention to the screen. I can't tell you when it happened but before the end of the movie I'd drifted to sleep. When I drifted back to consciousness it was dark except for the soft glow of the t.v screen. My cheek was pressed against something rough, and realized I'd leaned my head against Kurt's shoulder. Kurt himself had his head hanging back snoring softly with his mouth slightly open. He looked like a little boy sleeping like that and with his hair all mussed up. Smiling I carefully removed my self from the couch and reached for the blanket I'd gotten. Gently as I could I moved Kurt until he was lying down in a way that wouldn't hurt his neck and put a blanket around his shoulders. I giggled a little to myself thinking that this was kind of a role reversal of when we first met.
Yawning I took the two cups we'd used and took them to the kitchen. Going to bed I smiled to myself as I thought about my friend in the other room. As I nodded off I couldn't help but wonder if he would still be there in the morning.
The next morning
I woke up to the tantalizing scent of cooking eggs and pancakes which is a surprisingly pleasant thing to wake up to. Groggily I pulled myself from my warm comforter and pulled on my cotton robe over my pajamas (which are really just sweat pants and an oversized shirt). In the kitchen I found Kurt standing over a skillet humming a little tune as he fried eggs on the stove. Some how he heard me coming because he whipped his head around and flashed me a dazzling smile.
"Guten morgen Frau." I smiled at him in return wiping the sleepiness from my eyes.
"Good Morning Kurt. Something smells really good." Kurt seemed to take pride in the compliment as he turned back to the stove. I took a moment to just study him, he looked a lot different in the morning light of course that could also be the change of clothes. The white t-shirt I'd left him, while baggy on me pulled tight on Kurt's taller frame. He wasn't brawny but he obviously had some whip chord strength in his shoulders and arms that had been hidden underneath his baggier clothes. I also noticed his skin, last night in all the lower light and excitement I'd only taken in the fact that his skin was blue. Now with the morning light I could see he was marked all over, and to me they looked like scars. Hundreds of delicate hairline scars raised off his skin in whirling geometric designs. They seemed too precise to be the result of force, to me they looked self inflicted. I could only wonder why someone would purposefully inflict that much pain on themselves. It was only when Kurt placed a plate in front of me at the table that I realized I was staring. Thankfully though he seemed to take it in stride as he took the seat across from me running a hand through his hair carelessly. We ate in silence for a while just taking in the morning, and it wasn't until we were sipping coffee that I found something to say.
"So you told me that you were in a circus?" Kurt nodded his head and grinned crookedly his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Ja, I vas zhe main acrobat in zi big tent." He began to chat away about the bright lights and the fabulous feats of agility he would perform. As he talked I realized that Kurt was a person who seemed shy and quiet until he opened up. Then he was a lively and open person, but his tone changed when he talked about life after his shows where over.
"It vas not so glamorous when zhe curtain vent down. Ze circus owner vas... Vell he vas not a very good man." I just nodded in understanding thinking that it must have been a touchy subject. After that we began to talk and share stories, Kurt was actually very funny. I don't know how long that went on before we were both scared out of our wits by the ringing of my door bell. Kurt took in my startled expression then his eyes narrowed at the door.
"Vere you expecting guests?" Shaking my head dumbly I answered.
"No no one ever comes to visit me. I don't even think anyone but my family knows where I live." Standing I pulled my robe tighter around myself and I pointed down the hallway.
"My rooms down through there. Maybe you better stay there until I see whats going on." I felt bad having to ask Kurt to hide himself like that but it couldn't be helped. He didn't argue either Kurt just went straight to where I pointed and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. The entire time the bell did not stop ringing. Cautiously I opened the door a crack and seeing who it was I opened it a little wider and put a smile on my face.
"Jim, what are you doing here at (quick glance at the clock) 10 in the morning?" Jim smiled at me in a way that didn't seem overly friendly.
"Hello Beth, aren't you going to invite me in?" Stumbling over myself I widened the door and stood aside letting him in. I watched in mild shock as Jim took in my home like he was looking for something before I spoke awkwardly.
"You'll have to excuse me Jim. I'm not even properly dressed, I wasn't expecting anyone and it's my day off." Jim held up a hand and stopped my yammering.
"It's okay Beth just wanted to see how your doing. Is that coffee I smell?" Taking the not so subtle hint I nodded and started walking toward the kitchen talking over my shoulder trying to sound cheery.
"Yes you do, if you want some I'll get you a cup. How do you take it."
"Just black." His voice sounded clearly and I realized he must have followed me into the kitchen. Going through the motions trying to keep my hands steady I poured out the coffee, and turned to face him. Jim was just staring at the table intently. Then I noticed that he wasn't staring at the table he was staring at the two sets of dishes on the table. Swallowing I handed him the mug and offered him a seat. Jim motioned to the dishes and spoke in a direct tone.
"You been entertaining Beth?" Trying to keep myself under control I chuckled while gathering the plates and spoke.
"You could say that, I had breakfast with a friend this morning." Jim nodded with a thoughtful expression on his rugged face.
"I'd like to meet this friend, if he's still here." Smiling in a way that even felt forced I shook my head.
"You just missed him I'm afraid. Maybe some other time." Nodding Jim set down his cup and leaned forward staring at me intently.
"I'm afraid that this isn't just a courtesy visit Beth. That mutie we were going to visit yesterday has disappeared, know anything about it?"
Bum, Bum, Bummmm. Sorry I'm taking so long to write folks, things get crazy between school and work. I'll try to be a little more prompt in my writing. Send me a Review and tell what you think. Pretty Please?