So, Azazel is introduced to a few more people. We get a new bamf.

And Kurt's higher than a kite.

Enjoy~!

I own nothing you recognize as canon in any X-Men universe.

*~Because Being Together is Enough~*

Chapter Eleven: Reflect

Rogue was woken up at four in the morning. Not her idea of a great start to the day. There was hurried shouting resounding from the first floor. There had been a commotion earlier, but she had decided not to get out of bed to see what the problem was. She tried to cover her head with her pillow to drown out the yelling this time, but gave up when Kitty phased through her door.

"Rogue!" she shouted. Spook, Rogue's bamf, grumbled in complaint on the bookshelf. Since it couldn't sleep with Rogue for obvious reasons, it had chosen to nest on the top shelf amongst the books.

"We ain't roommates anymore," Rogue complained. "Why are you in mah room now?"

"It's Kurt! Logan went to go find him after he didn't come back with me from Prom and…"

"And what?" Rogue demanded. "What happened to Kurt?"

"He was taken to Doctor McCoy," Kitty managed. "He's hurt really bad!"

Spook growled and 'ported away. Rogue shot out of bed, not even caring that she was heading downstairs in her pajamas.

All of the other students had heard the commotion of the X-Men loudly bringing Kurt in and were pounding down the stairs with Rogue and Kitty. All of them headed to the infirmary.

Wolverine was outside the doors, along with Jean and Scott and all of the blue bamfs—and many more red ones. He crossed his arms. "No one's gettin' in here 'til Hank says so."

"He's mah brother," Rogue protested. "Ah need to see him!"

"There's too many people in there as it is," Jean said. "We'd only be hurting Kurt more if we got in the way. It was hard enough to get the bamfs out of there without Azazel's help!"

"Who's Azazel?" Bobby asked.

Jean held a hand over her mouth. Scott shook his head. "Not the time. Everyone go back to bed. Kurt's out of immediate danger. He's not going to die."

Many students visibly relaxed. Some actually went back to bed. Jean and Scott led the rest of them away, offering to cook an early breakfast to take their minds off of Kurt. But Kitty and Rogue stubbornly sat in the hall, refusing to leave. Spook and Gordy snuggled up close to them—or in Spook's case, next to Rogue—prompting the rest of the bamfs to settle nearby as well. Rogue gave her bamf a smile, taking in the fact that it was the skinniest of the bamfs, and the one that liked to stay in the shadows the most. It was not a fan of touching, which made it a perfect friend for Rogue.

Rogue blinked at the sheer amount of red bamfs in the hall. "Why are there red ones here, now?"

"They're Azazel's," Logan answered, still posted at the door.

"And who's that?"

Logan glanced around, then lowered his voice. "This don't leave the hall until the Prof says it's okay to tell."

Kitty and Rogue nodded.

"Azazel…he's Kurt's ol' man."

Rogue thought she had gunk in her ears. "His…his what?"

"His dad?" Kitty nearly screamed. "Like, his real dad? He's here?"

"What's he look like? What's he like?"

"Want a good idea of what he looks like?" Logan pointed to the red bamfs. "Think about a taller, meaner version o' them. He's pretty surly, but…I guess he's tryin' to make up for not raisin' Kurt."

"Why's he just showin' up now?" Rogue asked.

"Not my place to tell you, kid. Just know he's prickly and don't take kindly to anyone bein' near Kurt when the elf's in trouble. Jean said there's too many people in there—that's a big infirmary. Truth is, Red's not lettin' anyone near the elf that ain't essential to helpin' him."

Rogue did not appreciate that one bit. "Ah'm his sister! And Ah'm gonna see him now, if he's really outta danger!"

She barreled past Wolverine, who decided it wasn't a good idea to get brushed by Rogue's bare skin—she hadn't put on anything over her pajamas, which exposed a lot of skin compared to her daytime outfits. He did, however, stop Kitty with a grunt. "Let her go. If anyone can take down Azazel by surprise, it's her."

Rogue nearly ran into Beast immediately. The older mutant reeled back in alarm, clearing his throat. "Oh, Rogue! You startled me."

"Where's Kurt?" she demanded softly. "Ah wanna see him."

Hank nodded. "I was actually coming out to tell anyone waiting to come in one at a time. We've got him stable, with fresh bandages and a lot of painkillers pumped in him. The professor is probably trying to keep him from jumping out of bed as we speak."

Rogue immediately felt relieved. Kurt was okay. That was all that mattered. "Then Ah'm first in line ta see him."

"Of course. Just be mindful of…well…"

"Kurt's dad," she finished. "Yeah, Ah know he's in here. Only other person that knows it Kitty."

Hank looked surprised for a second, then sighed. "Well, please keep that a secret for a little bit. The professor wants to wait until Kurt is ready before we spring the news on the rest of the institute."

Rogue walked past him and threw back the curtain separating Kurt from the world.

Kurt was sitting up, propped up with a million pillows behind his back. Bandages wrapped his torso, and an IV drip was hooked up to his arm. The professor was sitting on one side of the bed, his hands in his lap. Something moved in the shadows, but Rogue was too busy looking at her brother to care.

Kurt saw her and gave her a dopey grin. "Roooogue," he called. "Hallo there!"

Xavier chuckled at Rogue's confused look. "There's quite a lot of painkillers in his system right now, Rogue," he explained. "It'll be like he got gassed at the dentist for a while."

Rogue took a pair of the sterile doctor gloves and covered her hands before holding Kurt's. "Hey, Kurt," she said. "You look like yer havin' fun up there in the clouds."

"You're up here, too," he said. "Aren't they wunderbar? I taste cherry soda rain!" He giggled like a schoolgirl. "Vhat do you taste?"

Not wanting to let him down, she answered, "Ah'm tastin' blueberry right now."

Kurt hiccupped, causing him to slightly flinch. "Ach, mein tummy hurts!"

"Maybe you shouldn't drink so much cherry soda rain," she offered.

Kurt giggled again.

The professor wheeled around the bed. "Come now, Rogue. I think it's time we let Kurt rest. Kitty would like to say hello as well."

"One moment, then," she said. Rogue turned her head to the shadowed part of the room. "You. Yer Kurt's dad, right?"

In the shadows glowed two icy blue eyes. The mutant didn't step into the light.

Rogue continued, "Thanks fer watchin' out fer mah brother. But if you try an' tell me I can't see him when he's hurt…I'll make sure you remember to let me through."

She left the room.

After she left, Azazel stepped out of the shadows. He glanced at Xavier. "She said her brother. She meant Kurt?"

The professor nodded. "Mystique adopted Rogue, and that was enough for those two to consider themselves siblings."

The red mutant smiled to himself. "She is tough. Good for her. I assume the toughness comes from Raven."

"Well, yes. I suppose it did, but she did not know Mystique had adopted her. Raven had been in disguise until recently. Rogue joined the X-Men after learning this fact."

Just then, a young girl burst into the room yelling, "Kurt!"

Kurt grinned again, turning his head to see the newcomer. "Keety! You missed it; I had cherry soda rain vith Rogue!"

Kitty looked confused for a moment, then giggled. "Wow. Doctor McCoy's really got you doped up, huh, Fuzzy?" She patted him on the head. "Do you, like, feel any pain?"

"Vhy vould I feel pain?" Kurt asked, his dopey grin still plastered on his face. "I feel like dancing vith the birds up here in the clouds!" His forearms lazily lifted up and swung back and forth a little. "All the pretty little birds und angels und balloons…" He giggled, staring off into space. "So pretty…"

"Geeze, you're higher than a kite, Fuzzy," Kitty commented, highly amused. "I hope you get better soon, though. We'd all love to see you prank Jamie during the horror movie marathon next week!"

"Horror movie," he slurred. "Grr…"

"Yeah, grr." Kitty giggled, looking at Xavier. "He'll be alright, Professor?"

The older mutant nodded. "In time, he'll be good as new. But for now, he needs rest. Please tell anyone else still wanting to see Kurt that—for the moment—they'll have to do it one at a time."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, it's best not to crowd him. You know how he gets when he's vulnerable in a high traffic area."

Kitty remembered that Kurt wasn't very comfortable with moving past the lockers at school when big crowds filed through the halls. He'd said it was because he didn't want anyone to accidentally brush up against his fur, but she knew it stemmed deeper than that. Even in the mansion, if the lounges or kitchen got too overcrowded, he'd be the first to leave. It was the way he was.

"That, and, well…" The professor hesitated briefly. "I assume his recently-acquired guard wouldn't take kindly to too many people, either."

That was when Kitty registered the other mutant in the room. He'd been slightly concealed within the shadows, so he hadn't grabbed her attention. She nearly gasped aloud at the terrifying mutant before her.

If she had thought Kurt had been scary when they'd first met, this guy was way worse. He actually looked like the devil in real life, with red skin and icy blue eyes. A red spaded tail swished in warning behind his seat. The only thing missing was a pair of sharp horns poking through his slick black and grey hair.

The man stared at her with such intensity that Kitty couldn't look straight at him. She shivered in fear, trying not to scream.

"Kitty," Xavier continued. "This is Azazel." The professor looked a little uncomfortable about the red mutant in the room, but didn't say anything else.

Azazel didn't react. He just kept staring at Kitty, as if in study. Kurt made popping noises with his mouth, blissfully unaware of the tension.

Kitty cleared her throat and nodded. "You're Kurt's dad, right? I can see the resemblance." She'd tried and failed to keep her voice steady.

The man gave a curt nod, but did not say anything. Charles coughed. "Yes, well…Kitty, why don't you get back to bed? Logan still has a Danger Room session scheduled with you all this afternoon, and I think he'd like you well rested for it."

Kitty groaned, "Don't remind me…" With a nervous glance towards Azazel, Kitty patted Kurt on the head. "See ya later, Fuzzy. Get well soon, yeah?"

"Ja, ja," Kurt slurred. "I vill get all the vells soon!" He gave a huge yawn, revealing sharp fangs. "Just as soon as the schafherde stops hopping in front of me…"

Kitty blinked. "The what?"

"Flock of sheep," Xavier translated. "That seems to be a sign that the painkillers' secondary effects are finally kicking in. With all the different medication speeding up his metabolism, he woke up and felt like jumping around like a bouncy ball. Now he should be ready to pass out for the day."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm not tired, Professor," he whined. "Ich bin nicht müde." His tail thumped under the covers.

"Little one," Azazel finally said. "Do nyet whine. You are nyet child."

Kurt pouted for a brief moment, making Kitty giggle. Looks like Kurt's gonna have a run for his money with his dad. She left the room on that note.

Azazel smirked. "She is tough in a different way. Kurt has good friends."

A few bamfs made Charles glance around the room. Furball and a couple of red bamfs crawled around on the floor in front of Azazel. One new blue bamf—one the professor had never seen before—was being supported by the two red ones. Its fur was slightly damp, and it had a green shine to its dark blue fur.

"Ah." Azazel bent down and picked up the new bamf. It struggled a little awkwardly, as if unsure of how to use its limbs. "Settle down," the red mutant cooed. "I will nyet harm you."

Charles was surprised at the delicacy the teleporter used in handling the bamf, almost as if he were handling a baby. "Where did that bamf come from?" he asked.

Without even a glance, Azazel answered, "I ordered the bamfs to find any of their brothers and rescue them. Those in the early stages were to be mercifully destroyed." He stood up and grabbed a towel from one of Hank's drawers nearby, gently rubbing down the bamf. "You must be the only one they could find, da?" he asked the bamf.

The little blue creature had stopped wiggling and was now trying to snuggle deep into Azazel's chest. The red mutant smiled. "I know the outside world is cold. But that fur will warm you right up, soon."

"Azazel," Charles said, surprise in his voice.

The Russian turned his head towards Xavier. "Da?"

Charles looked at the soft, gentle caressing of the bamf in Azazel's arms, then at the now-asleep, safe-and-sound Kurt. He thought out his next words carefully. "I…I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For suspecting evil intentions from you." With Azazel, Charles knew bluntness was better. Though the man danced with swords, he did not like to dance around with words. "I had assumed that you were wanting to turn Kurt evil, or—Heaven forbid—hurt him in any way. I was wrong."

The red mutant didn't react. His tail twitched back and forth, but not in agitation. He was curious, so the telepath continued, "Once I'd found out you were Kurt's father, I was very nervous. I was afraid, but not for myself—I was afraid for Kurt. It had nearly destroyed him when Mystique revealed herself as Kurt's mother, and we'd already been fighting her for some time. I had been afraid that if you went to him as you used to be…"

"…then the information of what I was, topped with what Mystique is, would push Kurt past the breaking point," Azazel finished. "I understand your concern. From what I've observed, my syn is strong physically, but his deep subconscious can be as fragile as glass." He stared at Kurt for a minute, then sighed. "I had promised myself when Kurt was born…that I would take things slower, not be so reckless in my jobs. And when I emerged from that lab after nearly twenty years with the little bamfs in tow…"

His hand patted the little bamf on the back. "My life of killing is gone. That Azazel died the moment I got caught. I am seeing this as a new opportunity; a new start with Kurt. I wish to actually be his father."

Charles smiled. "Ororo told me of your choice down in the labs—how you spared that man's life. I think if you keep doing little things like that, you'll prove yourself more than worthy of being his father."

"I will not deny nor forget my past—and our previous encounter," Azazel said, as if gauging Xavier's response. "And when I do tell Kurt what I am to him, I will not hesitate to tell him of exactly what I was." His tail lashed back and forth in agitation. "I trust him to make judgements based on what I will do, not what I had done twenty years ago."

"And I believe Kurt will do just that," Charles agreed. "He's a fine young lad, and even Mystique can see that."

At the mention of the shapeshifter, Azazel stiffened a little. "Do you…do you know where…?"

"Sadly, no. I'm sure if she had been nearby, you would have found her before me."

Azazel seemed content with this answer, for better or for worse. The bamf, still curled up against his chest, squeaked and shivered. Azazel's tail rose up, the tip gently wrapping around the bamf's stubby tail. "There, there," he whispered. "You are like newborn—small and fragile, new to the world. But you have many siblings to learn from. Many brothers to help you find your way."

"If this is what you're like with the bamfs," Charles commented, "I'd be curious to see how you would have raised Kurt."

"If we are honest, it probably would not have gone well." Azazel shifted on his feet. "When Kurt was born, I said I would go slower, be less reckless. It would be for Kurt's sake, since I did not want him growing up without a father. I still had my mercenary job back then, and was willing to kill to feed my family. Kurt would have had a terrible influence in me."

"Speaking of jobs," Xavier said. I can't believe I'm doing this. "Would you like one?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean here, as a teacher. Hank teaches science here to the students who can't blend in enough to go to school. Jean and Scott have a few basic classes of their own, and Ororo teaches some outdoor classes. If you're willing, I can set up a Russian course here at the institute."

Azazel seemed to consider that. "Russian, hmm? I suppose that might work."

"The job would include room and board, though you'd be sharing your meals with the rest of the mansion and not in a teacher's lounge."

"I would prefer to stay in the place I am in now," Azazel stated. "It is a well-guarded secret. And paid-off."

"If that works for you, then we can arrange that." Charles laced his fingers together on his lap. "I won't lie to you: Logan will be keeping a very close watch on you, whether I tell him to or not. And I believe Ororo will as well."

"Who says I mind the weather goddess watching me?" the red mutant said with a sly grin. At the professor's cocked eyebrow, Azazel chuckled. "I am kidding. I did not expect to become a part of Kurt's life here without some sort of watchful eye on me. I don't assume you fully trust me, either. Not after the things I did with Shaw."

Charles was briefly reminded of the CIA incident, where men rained from the sky and agents' throats were slashed open. That had been the first time Azazel had been seen by Xavier's comrades, and they had described in great detail what had happened. "I'm willing to try and start over with you, Azazel," he offered. "For Kurt's sake."

The boy in question mumbled in his sleep. Azazel put the bamf next to him. It sought out Kurt's warmth and curled up next to him, instantly shuffling itself under the sheets. Azazel patted his son on the head, watching as Furball joined the new bamf at Kurt's side.

The red mutant looked at Xavier and nodded once. "For Kurt's sake."

A/N: So, Xavier is willing to work with Azazel. At least on a teaching level.

Rogue is an amazing sister. Even if it's a step-sibling relationship, I always saw their characters change towards each other when Rogue and Kurt were on-screen together. The dynamic is amazing, and I always see Rogue as the protective sibling, since Kurt is a lot more sensitive than her.

We'll find out where Amanda is in the next chapter, and why she was sick when Logan found her.

In the near future, we'll also find out about Azazel's past before he met Mystique, meaning his time with Shaw and origins. I plan to kind of merge Evo with First Class, obviously. It'll be difficult, but I believe Evo left out enough characters that appear in First Class that I don't need to do much moving. Beast is kinda the only one I have to remove from the First Class situation, since he refused to join Xavier in Evo until he was an adult.

AND CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS NEW BAMF? He's fresh out of the tube, so he'd be much like a newborn kitten (yet is the size of a housecat, just like the other bamfs, since they come out of the tubes fully grown). Every time I got to write about him, I just wanted to go 'aww'. I'm fangirling over my own creation, here...