Disclaimer: I only own the ficcage, so no stealing it.
Universe: Movie. Yes, I know it's a shocker, but I do write in other fandoms when the mood strikes me.
It's a Beautiful World
InterNutter
Sometimes, it was terribly handy to have a tail. Kurt knew from years of experience that people would stare at it when they got past staring at his blue skin or the angelic marks on his body. After the tail, they noticed his hands, then returned to his face to stare at his teeth.
No matter. His differences were what made him uniquely himself. He knew who he was and was comfortable in his own skin.
And since his hands were occupied with his lady-love's breakfast, his extra limb twisted the doorknob and opened the portal for him.
Ororo didn't look any happier. She was sitting up in bed and watching the television. Glaring at it as if it had become her mortal enemy. She held the remote as if it were a weapon against the things she saw.
As he stepped closer, he could hear what had raised her ire.
"...filthy mutant scum -fsst- don't know where they *are* -fsst- muties should just *go* home an -fsst- round the muties up -fsst- reports streaming in of mutant -fsst- white house has released a statement..."
Kurt put the tray down. "Trouble?"
"Inconsiderate *bastards*," Ororo fumed. "If they said 'nigger' instead of 'mutie', would they even be *saying* those things? What about the *children*?"
Someone on the television was bewailing that her children were at risk from the mutant menace.
"Aren't the odds in favour of one of her children actually *being* a mutant?" said Kurt.
"That's why it's so hideously *stupid*!" She flicked the channel again. There was an anti-mutant rally and a chanting crowd. Click, it was a mother telling an interviewer that she threw her ten-year-old son out of the house for being a mutie. Click, a frightened mutant child running from people with guns. "Can't they see what they're *doing*?"
"It's a simulation at least," said Kurt, pointing at the legend on the screen that read, _Dramatization. All these people are actors. No mutants were involved in this production._
"It's insanity..." Ororo shook her head. Click, another rally. This time, the chanting people were calling for mutant sterilization. "How can they *say* these things without knowing anything about us?"
Kurt made up his mind, he walked over to the television and turned it off.
Ororo stabbed at the remote to turn it back on. "Do you *mind*? I have to watch this!"
"No," he reached behind the set and unplugged it. "You don't."
"*HEY*!"
"You've seen enough ugliness, liebe," he told her. "No more."
"But how can you just *ignore* it? It's everywhere..."
"Ja?" Kurt offered his hand. "Perhaps I can show you."
Ororo threw the remote down. "*Fine*." She stomped into her wardrobe and threw clothes about. "Just keep in mind that it doesn't pay to piss off a weather witch."
Kurt smiled in spite of her mood. "If you're still angry with me by the time we come back," he offered, "I will let you do anything you like - so long as it makes your mood better."
"Hrmph!" Ororo strode back out in something that was probably fashionable and seized his hand. "Just get it *over* with."
"As you wish." {Bamf!}
***********
Ororo blinked and steadied herself. This had been a long trip, distance-wise, so it took a little more out of her than usual. Some, she knew, could be violently ill after one teleport.
For now, she was just lucky that she hadn't had breakfast.
This place was some kind of club. A meeting-place. The windows were boarded over on the outside, she could see that through the curtains. But inside...
The furniture was mismatches. Some of it had lead a hard life, previously. But the abused pieces had been patched and repaired. Some even bore the signs of re-upholstering. The bookshelves were the sort of old that was found on roadsides, or constructed in the typical student fashion of using old bricks and planks together.
People had bought what they could. Or they made do with what they could scrounge.
There were people here, too. They just continued on with what they were doing as if a blue man with a tail hadn't just teleported in with his significant other.
"Kurt? What *is* this place?"
"We just call it the Sanctuary," he said, leading her off the nauseatingly-yellow throw rug they'd 'landed' on. "It's a shelter for mutants and humans alike."
Ororo noted the use of 'we'. "You help these people?"
"I do what I can," he said simply. Beyond the library, there was a kitchen, where black and white joined together with the rest of the rainbow to produce a seemingly endless array of meals. "Hallo," he greeted the group. "Where's Amy?"
A purple girl spoke up while she wedged sandwiches into boxes. "I think I saw her in the games room. She was playing some jump-and-die classic last I looked."
"Danke."
"Amy?" Ororo raised an eyebrow. "Have you been carrying on behind my back?"
Kurt grinned at her, his eyes gone playful. "If I was, why would I take you to meet her? You should have more faith." He lead her on, down a hall, to a room filled with the noise of children trying to keep the noise down whilst still having fun.
A tiny theme sounded from a frankenstein PC and a little figure wailed, "Aw *noooo*... Dead *again*..." She shook her hands free of the keyboard.
Ororo noticed the plaster cast on one arm, and the bandages on the other.
"You'll get them next time, ja?" said Kurt.
The kid turned, a wide grin on her bruised and battered face. "Unca *Kurti*!" She dissolved into mist and reappeared draped around his neck. "I shoulda *felt* you come in."
Kurt held her and chuckled. "You were distracted. I can forgive you." He kissed her forehead. "Now, kleines, you remember me telling tales about the marvellous mistress of the storm?"
Ororo blushed. "Hello, Amy," she said. "What happened?"
"We don't talk about that stuff here," said Amy. "This is the *Sanctuary*."
"We don't take hate into the Sanctuary," soothed Kurt. "Or prejudice. Or spite. This is a place away from the ugliness of the world. It's for healing and respite."
Sanctuary in name *and* nature. She should have guessed. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm new."
And the next thing she knew, there was a ten-year-old teleporter in her arms. She quickly moved to support the girl's slight weight.
"Welcome," said Amy. "Since you're new, you need to know the rules. Anger is not our friend. Try to leave it at the door, and if you need to vent, there's the expression room. Just fix any permanent damage when you're done." She took a breath. "Try to help where you can. You don't have to give everything you got, just what you can spare. You can even give time." Another breath. "You don't tell people about the Sanctuary. You *show* them, and *only* when you're sure they won't do anything mean."
Kurt was quietly chuckling behind his hand. "Bravo, liebchen. Sehr gut."
Ororo caught his smile and found a similar one on her face. "I don't think I should have much trouble with that." She gave Amy a hug and set her down. "I think I played that game once or twice. Where were you dying?"
Amy lead her over to the old PC. "It's the blue thingy on the ice level. I shoot and shoot but he just doesn't die[1]..."
**********
Ororo finally got back to her breakfast towards eleven. There'd been Amy and Richard, the two youngest kids, and after that was a small swarm of eager faces listening rapt to Kurt's tales of the Circus. Then there'd been a flurry of activity as the humans amongst them and some mutants who could pass went out with vans loaded with food parcels.
Ororo was part of the chain that helped load one of the trucks. She felt prouder of that than she had been of her superhero work.
Her breakfast was cold. She missed the news entirely. She was grubby and sweaty and her clothes had borne the brunt of her sundry efforts...
But she felt like a million dollars.
"So," said Kurt. "Angry with me?"
Ororo munched on her tepid toast. "Not any more."
Kurt's tail flipped and twisted, playing in the air. "You see? The world can be a beautiful place."
"I get it," she said. "I get it. No more news in the morning."
His grin powered up. "Ah, gut... I know far better things to do in the mornings, nein?"
"But you only have an hour left, Herr Wagner..." she teased.
"Well... if you *insist* that I rush..." with a soft {Bamf!} he was wrapped around her. "It can be arranged."
Ororo fell giggling into her pillows. The world *was* beautiful. All one had to do was stop searching for ugliness.
~End~
[1] Commander Keen, if you must know.
Universe: Movie. Yes, I know it's a shocker, but I do write in other fandoms when the mood strikes me.
It's a Beautiful World
InterNutter
Sometimes, it was terribly handy to have a tail. Kurt knew from years of experience that people would stare at it when they got past staring at his blue skin or the angelic marks on his body. After the tail, they noticed his hands, then returned to his face to stare at his teeth.
No matter. His differences were what made him uniquely himself. He knew who he was and was comfortable in his own skin.
And since his hands were occupied with his lady-love's breakfast, his extra limb twisted the doorknob and opened the portal for him.
Ororo didn't look any happier. She was sitting up in bed and watching the television. Glaring at it as if it had become her mortal enemy. She held the remote as if it were a weapon against the things she saw.
As he stepped closer, he could hear what had raised her ire.
"...filthy mutant scum -fsst- don't know where they *are* -fsst- muties should just *go* home an -fsst- round the muties up -fsst- reports streaming in of mutant -fsst- white house has released a statement..."
Kurt put the tray down. "Trouble?"
"Inconsiderate *bastards*," Ororo fumed. "If they said 'nigger' instead of 'mutie', would they even be *saying* those things? What about the *children*?"
Someone on the television was bewailing that her children were at risk from the mutant menace.
"Aren't the odds in favour of one of her children actually *being* a mutant?" said Kurt.
"That's why it's so hideously *stupid*!" She flicked the channel again. There was an anti-mutant rally and a chanting crowd. Click, it was a mother telling an interviewer that she threw her ten-year-old son out of the house for being a mutie. Click, a frightened mutant child running from people with guns. "Can't they see what they're *doing*?"
"It's a simulation at least," said Kurt, pointing at the legend on the screen that read, _Dramatization. All these people are actors. No mutants were involved in this production._
"It's insanity..." Ororo shook her head. Click, another rally. This time, the chanting people were calling for mutant sterilization. "How can they *say* these things without knowing anything about us?"
Kurt made up his mind, he walked over to the television and turned it off.
Ororo stabbed at the remote to turn it back on. "Do you *mind*? I have to watch this!"
"No," he reached behind the set and unplugged it. "You don't."
"*HEY*!"
"You've seen enough ugliness, liebe," he told her. "No more."
"But how can you just *ignore* it? It's everywhere..."
"Ja?" Kurt offered his hand. "Perhaps I can show you."
Ororo threw the remote down. "*Fine*." She stomped into her wardrobe and threw clothes about. "Just keep in mind that it doesn't pay to piss off a weather witch."
Kurt smiled in spite of her mood. "If you're still angry with me by the time we come back," he offered, "I will let you do anything you like - so long as it makes your mood better."
"Hrmph!" Ororo strode back out in something that was probably fashionable and seized his hand. "Just get it *over* with."
"As you wish." {Bamf!}
***********
Ororo blinked and steadied herself. This had been a long trip, distance-wise, so it took a little more out of her than usual. Some, she knew, could be violently ill after one teleport.
For now, she was just lucky that she hadn't had breakfast.
This place was some kind of club. A meeting-place. The windows were boarded over on the outside, she could see that through the curtains. But inside...
The furniture was mismatches. Some of it had lead a hard life, previously. But the abused pieces had been patched and repaired. Some even bore the signs of re-upholstering. The bookshelves were the sort of old that was found on roadsides, or constructed in the typical student fashion of using old bricks and planks together.
People had bought what they could. Or they made do with what they could scrounge.
There were people here, too. They just continued on with what they were doing as if a blue man with a tail hadn't just teleported in with his significant other.
"Kurt? What *is* this place?"
"We just call it the Sanctuary," he said, leading her off the nauseatingly-yellow throw rug they'd 'landed' on. "It's a shelter for mutants and humans alike."
Ororo noted the use of 'we'. "You help these people?"
"I do what I can," he said simply. Beyond the library, there was a kitchen, where black and white joined together with the rest of the rainbow to produce a seemingly endless array of meals. "Hallo," he greeted the group. "Where's Amy?"
A purple girl spoke up while she wedged sandwiches into boxes. "I think I saw her in the games room. She was playing some jump-and-die classic last I looked."
"Danke."
"Amy?" Ororo raised an eyebrow. "Have you been carrying on behind my back?"
Kurt grinned at her, his eyes gone playful. "If I was, why would I take you to meet her? You should have more faith." He lead her on, down a hall, to a room filled with the noise of children trying to keep the noise down whilst still having fun.
A tiny theme sounded from a frankenstein PC and a little figure wailed, "Aw *noooo*... Dead *again*..." She shook her hands free of the keyboard.
Ororo noticed the plaster cast on one arm, and the bandages on the other.
"You'll get them next time, ja?" said Kurt.
The kid turned, a wide grin on her bruised and battered face. "Unca *Kurti*!" She dissolved into mist and reappeared draped around his neck. "I shoulda *felt* you come in."
Kurt held her and chuckled. "You were distracted. I can forgive you." He kissed her forehead. "Now, kleines, you remember me telling tales about the marvellous mistress of the storm?"
Ororo blushed. "Hello, Amy," she said. "What happened?"
"We don't talk about that stuff here," said Amy. "This is the *Sanctuary*."
"We don't take hate into the Sanctuary," soothed Kurt. "Or prejudice. Or spite. This is a place away from the ugliness of the world. It's for healing and respite."
Sanctuary in name *and* nature. She should have guessed. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm new."
And the next thing she knew, there was a ten-year-old teleporter in her arms. She quickly moved to support the girl's slight weight.
"Welcome," said Amy. "Since you're new, you need to know the rules. Anger is not our friend. Try to leave it at the door, and if you need to vent, there's the expression room. Just fix any permanent damage when you're done." She took a breath. "Try to help where you can. You don't have to give everything you got, just what you can spare. You can even give time." Another breath. "You don't tell people about the Sanctuary. You *show* them, and *only* when you're sure they won't do anything mean."
Kurt was quietly chuckling behind his hand. "Bravo, liebchen. Sehr gut."
Ororo caught his smile and found a similar one on her face. "I don't think I should have much trouble with that." She gave Amy a hug and set her down. "I think I played that game once or twice. Where were you dying?"
Amy lead her over to the old PC. "It's the blue thingy on the ice level. I shoot and shoot but he just doesn't die[1]..."
**********
Ororo finally got back to her breakfast towards eleven. There'd been Amy and Richard, the two youngest kids, and after that was a small swarm of eager faces listening rapt to Kurt's tales of the Circus. Then there'd been a flurry of activity as the humans amongst them and some mutants who could pass went out with vans loaded with food parcels.
Ororo was part of the chain that helped load one of the trucks. She felt prouder of that than she had been of her superhero work.
Her breakfast was cold. She missed the news entirely. She was grubby and sweaty and her clothes had borne the brunt of her sundry efforts...
But she felt like a million dollars.
"So," said Kurt. "Angry with me?"
Ororo munched on her tepid toast. "Not any more."
Kurt's tail flipped and twisted, playing in the air. "You see? The world can be a beautiful place."
"I get it," she said. "I get it. No more news in the morning."
His grin powered up. "Ah, gut... I know far better things to do in the mornings, nein?"
"But you only have an hour left, Herr Wagner..." she teased.
"Well... if you *insist* that I rush..." with a soft {Bamf!} he was wrapped around her. "It can be arranged."
Ororo fell giggling into her pillows. The world *was* beautiful. All one had to do was stop searching for ugliness.
~End~
[1] Commander Keen, if you must know.