And...time jump.
Chapter Eleven
KURT
Stepping off the blackbird and onto the dazzling streets of Genosha felt like stepping into an entirely new world. Every building was decorated with lights and streamers of color, pennants hanging over the streets. A brilliant display of mutant powers illuminated the skyline, splashes and explosions of red and gold sending showers of sparks through the air.
"This place really cleans up nice," said Kitty, spinning in a circle, her baby blue dress swirling around her ankles. Everyone was dressed up in suits or dresses of various fashions, except Wolverine, who said he wasn't "feeling fussy".
"I guess this is what it looks like when mutants are free to use their abilities," said Scott, holding Jean's hand.
She smiled up at him. "It's beautiful, and everyone here is so happy. I can feel it."
"These buildings really are remarkable," added Hank, marveling at the elegant, clearly mutant-constructed architecture.
"Yeah," Bobby gawked, "they make the mansion look like a dump."
"Don't say that!" Kitty punched Bobby in the arm. She looked apologetically at Kurt. "Not that it isn't nice and all, Kurt."
Kurt rolled his eyes. The mansion was basically a gossip mill, and it took about ten seconds for everyone to decide that he and Wanda were an item, though at least not everyone knew that they had a kid in the future.
"I helped set this up," said Ororo, looking stunning in a long elegant dress-and a little proud, too. "There's going to be a concert at eight, and I think we should all go."
"I don't think that's going to happen," said Forge as the X-Men scattered, each drawn in different directions. Logan caught sight of Mystique. Rogue stopped to watch a man in a long brown duster do card tricks. Tildie and Shiro wanted cotton candy.
"I will go to the concert with you, Ororo," said Hank, offering her his arm. "Some of us appreciate the arts."
"What about you, Kurt?" Ororo asked, but there was a knowing look in her eyes. "Do you want to see the concert?"
He shook his head. "I'm going to find Vonda."
He teleported away before anyone could remind him that he shouldn't tell Wanda that they had a daughter-that they would have a daughter. How could he keep that to himself? How would she ever trust him if she found out he knew and didn't tell her?
How could he tell her and not lose her? It would sound insane if he just told her We have a daughter in the apocalyptic future, I know because the Professor told me from his coma. It would make any woman walk away and not look back.
He found her in the palace gardens, which had been bedecked for the festival, an orchestral band set up in the big courtyard, strains of ethereal music vibrating in the air, ribbons of red and blue light weaving among the rose hedges, strumming to the beat like an acoustic guitar. Mutants of all kinds wandered the ornamented paths in laughing groups or couples. He scanned them all from the shadows, clinging to a lamppost, eyes always lingering on the strolling pairs. She'd never said she had someone, and she'd certainly lead him to believe that she didn't…then he saw her, standing in the middle of a cluster of mutants, the radiant center of attention.
Wanda looked enchanting.
She wore a long, sleeveless scarlet gown that swept behind her in a regal train trimmed in gold, her hair loose around her bare shoulders, held back only by her crown.
He watched her for a few minutes, until the group broke apart, leaving her alone. Only then did he appear in front of her in a cloud of brimstone.
Her eyes lit up. "You came."
"I couldn't stay away."
"And the X-Men?"
"Having the time of their lives."
They were interrupted as more mutants approached, all of them eager and vying for the attentions of their Scarlet Witch. She graciously waved them off, keeping her focus on Kurt.
"Walk with me," she said, and he offered her his arm. Together they strolled down an empty path lined with tall hedges dripping red rose blossoms, the pavers flooded with petals.
"Lorna grew these for me," said Wanda fondly, "from seedlings, if you can believe it."
He looked suitably impressed. "Are there roses here year round?"
Wanda trailed her hand over the satin-soft petals of a giant tea rose, stroking its sharp thorns. "It's one of the benefits of having mutant gardeners. And of course Lorna is out here every day; they are her passion."
A crackling display of fireworks went off overhead, but he was looking at her. "And what is your passion?"
WANDA
His yellow eyes glowed with genuine interest, though they both already knew her passion-her life-was Genosha. She had a feeling that he was looking for something else…something more personal.
"I write."
His expression of mild surprise was mirrored on her face; she hadn't expected to tell him that. She didn't tell anyone about her writing.
"About mutants," she clarified, "I'm working on a sort of memoir. It's nothing really, it's just that while we're striving to create a place for homo-superior art and literature here, most of the books in our libraries were written by humans, and I think…I think everyone's story deserves to be heard."
She pushed her hair back, feeling suddenly raw and naked and shy; she wasn't sure what he would think of her. Did she sound pretentious? Well, she was admittedly a little pretentious. It was an occupational hazard.
"I think it's marvelous," he said with genuine enthusiasm, his yellow eyes lit up and glowing in the twilight. "I would like to read it, when you've finished."
Wanda blinked and realized she was beaming. She hadn't known how much she'd wanted him to say that, and now it filled her with more warmth than a fizzing bottle of champagne.
Whatever this was…it was perfect. The festival lights sparkling. The scent of blooming roses heady in the air. The way he looked at her with absolute attention. They had stopped walking at some point, beneath an arbor dripping with crimson flowers, and she found herself leaning in, suddenly very close.
She was going to kiss him, consequences be damned.
But then his expression changed, his eyes darkening, gaze shifting away, and the moment broke.
His voice was very soft, imploring. "You left without saying goodbye."
It wasn't an accusation; really, it was more of a question. Why had she left without saying goodbye? Her pulse pounded a little faster as she realized the answer: she loved him. She had loved him since that first day, when he arrived on Genosha, and she loved him even more now, in the starlight, after everything they had been through.
She blinked at him, fumbling for a safe answer and coming up with nothing. "I didn't want to wake you," she said finally, and it sounded as flat to her ears as she could tell it did to his.
He looked away. "Back at the X mansion, I didn't mean to be so forward. I thought…" he sighed. There was a crease between his brows that she longed to smooth out. "I was wrong."
He'd thought what? That she cared about him? That this relationship was moving towards something more? Even after everything she'd done, he still wanted this?
Her voice was soft. "You weren't wrong."
"What?" He asked, but she knew he'd heard her just fine.
"Kurt, you weren't wrong." Everything had seemed so simple when they first met, that day they went to the concert. Then everything became complicated. "I'm sorry I left, I just…" she started walking again, trying to buy herself more time to think. She wasn't even sure what she should say. "I didn't want to have to say goodbye."
They lapsed into silence for a few moments, crossing from the garden into a grand metal arcade with thick pillars and a roof dripping with ivy.
Wanda didn't like his silence; what had she done wrong? She'd misread him. She didn't know how she'd misread him, but it seemed the only answer to this pensive silence.
"Kurt," she shivered as a sea breeze swept down the arcade, sending goosebumps across her bare shoulders. "Say something."
His yellow eyes went from her face to her bare shoulders. "Are you cold?"
She blinked. "Yes."
She expected him to offer her his jacket but instead he tugged her into the shadow cast by one of the massive steel pillars and took her face in his hands and kissed her.
It was so unexpected that it took her a moment to kiss him back. His kiss was careful, cautious, questioning; hers was the passionate answer. Something inside her came alight, burning with the sensation of teeth and tongue and the scruff of his fur against her cheek and her heart beating-
He pulled back a little to study her face; she noticed that crease hadn't gone away. "Warmer now?"
She couldn't quite catch her breath so her answer was almost a gasp. "Yes."
Wanda pulled him back for another kiss and this time he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him, nearly sweeping her off of her feet. When they finally parted he didn't let her go, just tucked his face into the side of her neck and sighed. His breath stirred her hair. "Mien Liebe."
The sounds of the festival drifted over them, flashes of colored light breaking the darkness. The breeze carried the sounds of music and laughter.
"We're going to make this work." Wanda said. It was almost a question. "We can make this work."
He hesitated. "Vonda…" His eyes were very serious, crinkled at the edges. "I need to speak with you, alone."
"We're alone right now."
"Actually…" He fidgeted nervously, tugging at the cuffs of his suit jacket. "I want you to come back to the institute with me."
Her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Trying to take me home with you, Mister Wagner? How forward."
It was simple enough to find Blink and get her to send them to the Xavier Institute; Wanda didn't realize until they were standing in the foyer of the grand house that she'd neglected to secure a way home, but then, maybe she hadn't ever intended to go back tonight.
The mansion was all but empty, everyone at the festival on Genosha. Its dark rooms and vacant, echoing halls were eerie, and with a shiver Wanda thought that now would be the perfect time for someone to attack the mansion, while it was undefended.
"Cold still?" This time Kurt shrugged off his suit coat and draped it across her shoulders, the movement agitated and almost jerky. He was nervous. "Do you want a drink? I have no idea what we have."
"That would be lovely," she replied, because it seemed like he could use a drink.
They went into the kitchen and he flicked on a dim overhead light, rummaging around in the fridge and pantry while making increasingly dissatisfied noises.
"It looks like all we have is tea, unless you prefer root beer," he said apologetically. "Or water."
"Tea is fine."
He filled a large copper kettle with water and set it on the stove, the burner clicking as he turned a dial. He continued to fuss with the kettle and several tins of loose tea for much longer than was necessary, leaving Wanda standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at him.
"Are you going to tell me why I'm here? Is something wrong?"
"Nien." She watched the tense line of his shoulders hunch. "Nothing is wrong."
"Then you're doing a poor job of seducing me."
His head jerked up, the pointed tips of his fuzzy ears turning dark purple. "I'm not-" he stammered, "I'm not trying to seduce you."
"Then what are you doing? You brought me here to make tea and sit in silence?"
He turned around, his expression stark and raw; hopeful and hopeless. "I'm having second thoughts."
"About us?"
"No! Never-" he moved across the kitchen and sank into a chair. "It's complicated."
She took a step towards him. "Then explain it to me."
He put his head in his hands. "I want to be honest with you, Vonda, I just don't know how."
She knelt on the floor beside him, the long scarlet ripples of her dress fanning out around her, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
He lifted his head, yellow eyes glowing with some deep but nameless emotion. "I think it would be better if I showed you."
The doors to the coma chamber slid open with the sigh of well-oiled machinery. Wanda had never been here, of course, though her father had told her of Professor Xavier's communications from the future.
"Professor?" Kurt called out softly. "Are you there?"
Wanda gasped as the room faded to utter whiteness and she found herself facing the illustrious Professor X himself.
"Miss Maximoff," Xavier said graciously, "you look just like your-" he hesitated for a fraction of a second- "father."
"Thank you," she said, still a little confused by what was happening.
Xavier looked to Kurt. "I know why you're here but I'm not sure it's a good idea."
"Neither am I." Kurt moved to Wanda's side and took her hand. "But it's only right. Is she there? Can we see her?"
Wanda still felt like she was missing something. "See who? What are you talking about?"
He turned her towards him, taking both of her hands in his. "I know it's a lot but I couldn't keep this from you. I don't want there to be secrets between us."
He then explained essentially what Xavier had explained to him in their previous meeting, about how his friend vanished from existence when Wanda was abducted. She followed the story with a crease between her brows, but the smallest inkling of an idea sparked in the back of her mind. There was only one reason she could think of that would make someone cease to exist if her timeline changed.
A reason that would explain Kurt's peculiar behavior tonight.
So when a new person stepped into the white void, slender and blue-furred, yellow eyes lighting up as she flung her arms around Wanda, she knew exactly what was coming.
"Mom!"
The vibrant emotion in the girl's voice tugged at Wanda, and she hugged TJ fiercely back. The reality of this situation was still sinking in, but it wasn't an uncomfortable sensation, and she found herself smiling. Whatever happened to her with Sinister and Apocalypse, the terrible things they had done to her...it was nothing compared to this bright moment of hope that things could work out so well that she and Kurt had a daughter in the future. A future that she would help the X-Men make brighter.
KURT
It seemed like a miracle.
Here they were together, a family he'd never imagine having, and Wanda looked...happy.
He knew this would be a shock, but he hadn't been able to fathom her reaction. He'd hoped...but he hadn't been sure. And now his daughter was dragging him into what was now a family hug, and Wanda was smiling at him, and it was perfect.
But all too soon the Professor told them all that it was time for him and TJ to go, the stark white void fading back into the circular metal coma chamber.
They stood for a moment in silence. Kurt didn't know what he should say. What could he say?
"You must want to get back to the festival. I can take you home-" he broke off as he realized that he didn't know how they would get back to Genosha. The blackbird was there already, and the other X-Men would likely be enjoying the revels until dawn. He scratched the back of his head. "We could call Blink?"
Wanda closed the distance between them, taking one of his hands in hers and smiling up at him. "Genosha can wait." She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. "I think I'd like to stay here for a while."
Breaking all the time travel rules, I know. Also…this might be the end. Feel free to leave a review if you think this is a bad ending.
If you've made it this far and want more, check out the semi-sequel to this: NightWitch: Aftermath.