Word of warning to y'all. This is written at 3:30 in the morning and in a short amount of time. But I was bored and it had to be done. Got a little bit of writers block with my other stories, hopefully this will help. This could take place at any time, don't think it will really matter. Hope you like, but either way please review and tell me your thoughts, it's greatly appreciated:)
Understanding
By Nari
Kurt walked aimlessly through the woods, not following any specific trail, image inducer turned off. He needn't worry about anyone seeing his true form out here, not many people went off trail. Even if someone was out here Kurt was positive that he would hear them in time to either teleport away or flick on the inducer.
He sighed to himself, angry and frustrated. Why did he continue to hide who he truly was? He should just listen to Evan and turn the image inducer off, show everyone the real him. But he was so afraid. He had left Germany and come here so that he wouldn't have to be so afraid anymore. Afraid of what people thought of him, afraid of their reactions to seeing him, afraid of what they would do to him.
"What's the point? Why do I even bother trying to live a normal life? I'm always going to be a freak, a demon. What's the use in trying?"
"Y' know I used to t'ink like dat once," a quiet voice said from overhead. Kurt leapt back, settling easily into a fighting stance, preparing to attack. A figure flipped easily out of the trees to land in front of him, hands raised to show that he wasn't going to attack. "Take it easy, homme. I don' mean no harm, don' wan' to fight wit' ya."
"Gambit? What are you doing here if you don't want to fight?" Kurt knew better than to trust one of Magneto's men and didn't let his guard down, keeping a wary eye on him.
"Was just walking, t'inking some."
"Then why were you in the tree?"
Gambit grinned at him. "Tree's be de perfect place t' be alone. Not many people look f' y' up dere."
Kurt still knew better than to trust him. Gambit may not have tried anything yet but Kurt wouldn't put it past him to pull something. "What do you want Gambit?"
Gambit instantly sobered, grin fading and his brown eyes turning serious. "I heard what you were saying," he answered quietly, almost gently. Kurt was shocked. He hadn't realized that he had been speaking out loud.
"And?" he asked warily.
"Y' wrong," Gambit said matter of fact tone.
"What do you mean?" Kurt sounded confused as well as being slightly interested in what Gambit might say.
"There are always reasons to keep trying, to go on. Even when you think life has hit its lowest."
"What would you know of it?" Kurt asked angrily. How dare Gambit, an enemy, come up to him and tell him it would get better! Kurt was quickly losing his temper and his patience. This guy had a lot of nerve! "At least you look normal! You never had people screaming and running from you in terror. Never had someone try to kill you because they thought that you were a demon!"
Remy arched an eyebrow at him, not at all phased by Nightcrawler's outburst. "You of all people should know dat looks c'n be deceiving." Kurt looked at him in confusion. That hadn't been the reply he was expecting. He had been expecting Gambit to snap back at him, laugh at him, even call him the freak that he was. He most certainly didn't expect the gentle answer or the understanding that shone from those eyes. Gambit sighed as he reached up to his eyes and removed the plain brown contacts that hide his red on black demon eyes, the red burning like fire. Kurt gasped and unconsciously took a step back, staring at Gambit in awe.
"Y' t'ink dat I had a great life wit' eyes like dese? I do know what it was like to be called a demon and looked down upon. When I was a kid dey called me Le Diablo Blanc. Y' know what dat means?"
Kurt shook his head and whispered, "...no..."
"De White Devil. I was somet'ing t' be spit at, beat or killed. Definitely not worth helping and no one would even come close t' me, let alone be a friend."
"Why are you telling me this?" Kurt stepped closer to Gambit. The fear and distrust had faded, replaced by curiosity and the need to comfort. Or maybe it was the need for comfort. No one had taken the time to talk to him about this before, not that he had really given them any reason to believe they should, and certainly no one could relate like Gambit could.
"Because I see de look in your eyes." Gambit stepped forward and wiped a tear away from Kurt's cheek that he hadn't even noticed fall. "You t'ink dat nobody cares, dat you should just give up and quit trying. Nobody would care if you were gone anyway, right?" Gambit still hadn't withdrawn his hand and caressed Kurt's cheek and jaw lightly, comforting Kurt as best he could.
"Why should anyone care about me?" Kurt looked up at Gambit with pleading eyes.
"Y' wrong. People do care about y'. De X-Men care, Amanda, y' girlfriend cares. Y' have friends who accept you for who y' are, not what you look like. It don' matter t' dem."
"I still don't see why."
"I can't tell y' why. I don' know dem or you well enough. But I do know dat dey accept you, dat dey aren't afraid of y' or t'ink anyt'ing bad of y'. Y' have a family wit' dem. Dat's all dat really matters, all you really need."
"I never really looked at it that way before." He looked at Gambit in gratitude. Maybe his life wasn't so bad. He had a family and a girl who he knew loved him in either form. He frowned as a thought hit him. "What about you? Where's your family?"
"Wit' Magneto." Gambit sounded happy and even proud that it could be that way.
"Why?"
"Same reason yours is wit' de X-Men. He didn't care about m' eyes. Didn't matter to him what color dey were what other people said about me. He took me in anyway." Kurt looked at him in understanding. Gambit nodded at him and withdrawing his hand stepped back into the trees preparing to leave.
"Wait!" Gambit paused a moment and looked back at him. "I know that we're supposed to be enemies and all but thanks for helping."
"Not a problem." He turned and continued to walk away.
"Right about now, though, I'm wishing that we weren't," Kurt whispered to himself but somehow Gambit managed to hear.
"Oui, but dat's life, no?" Gambit called back over his shoulder before disappearing into the forest.
"Yeah. To bad life isn't always what you want it to be." However, as he turned away and headed back for home he couldn't help but think that maybe life was exactly as it should be.
~Finis~
Understanding
By Nari
Kurt walked aimlessly through the woods, not following any specific trail, image inducer turned off. He needn't worry about anyone seeing his true form out here, not many people went off trail. Even if someone was out here Kurt was positive that he would hear them in time to either teleport away or flick on the inducer.
He sighed to himself, angry and frustrated. Why did he continue to hide who he truly was? He should just listen to Evan and turn the image inducer off, show everyone the real him. But he was so afraid. He had left Germany and come here so that he wouldn't have to be so afraid anymore. Afraid of what people thought of him, afraid of their reactions to seeing him, afraid of what they would do to him.
"What's the point? Why do I even bother trying to live a normal life? I'm always going to be a freak, a demon. What's the use in trying?"
"Y' know I used to t'ink like dat once," a quiet voice said from overhead. Kurt leapt back, settling easily into a fighting stance, preparing to attack. A figure flipped easily out of the trees to land in front of him, hands raised to show that he wasn't going to attack. "Take it easy, homme. I don' mean no harm, don' wan' to fight wit' ya."
"Gambit? What are you doing here if you don't want to fight?" Kurt knew better than to trust one of Magneto's men and didn't let his guard down, keeping a wary eye on him.
"Was just walking, t'inking some."
"Then why were you in the tree?"
Gambit grinned at him. "Tree's be de perfect place t' be alone. Not many people look f' y' up dere."
Kurt still knew better than to trust him. Gambit may not have tried anything yet but Kurt wouldn't put it past him to pull something. "What do you want Gambit?"
Gambit instantly sobered, grin fading and his brown eyes turning serious. "I heard what you were saying," he answered quietly, almost gently. Kurt was shocked. He hadn't realized that he had been speaking out loud.
"And?" he asked warily.
"Y' wrong," Gambit said matter of fact tone.
"What do you mean?" Kurt sounded confused as well as being slightly interested in what Gambit might say.
"There are always reasons to keep trying, to go on. Even when you think life has hit its lowest."
"What would you know of it?" Kurt asked angrily. How dare Gambit, an enemy, come up to him and tell him it would get better! Kurt was quickly losing his temper and his patience. This guy had a lot of nerve! "At least you look normal! You never had people screaming and running from you in terror. Never had someone try to kill you because they thought that you were a demon!"
Remy arched an eyebrow at him, not at all phased by Nightcrawler's outburst. "You of all people should know dat looks c'n be deceiving." Kurt looked at him in confusion. That hadn't been the reply he was expecting. He had been expecting Gambit to snap back at him, laugh at him, even call him the freak that he was. He most certainly didn't expect the gentle answer or the understanding that shone from those eyes. Gambit sighed as he reached up to his eyes and removed the plain brown contacts that hide his red on black demon eyes, the red burning like fire. Kurt gasped and unconsciously took a step back, staring at Gambit in awe.
"Y' t'ink dat I had a great life wit' eyes like dese? I do know what it was like to be called a demon and looked down upon. When I was a kid dey called me Le Diablo Blanc. Y' know what dat means?"
Kurt shook his head and whispered, "...no..."
"De White Devil. I was somet'ing t' be spit at, beat or killed. Definitely not worth helping and no one would even come close t' me, let alone be a friend."
"Why are you telling me this?" Kurt stepped closer to Gambit. The fear and distrust had faded, replaced by curiosity and the need to comfort. Or maybe it was the need for comfort. No one had taken the time to talk to him about this before, not that he had really given them any reason to believe they should, and certainly no one could relate like Gambit could.
"Because I see de look in your eyes." Gambit stepped forward and wiped a tear away from Kurt's cheek that he hadn't even noticed fall. "You t'ink dat nobody cares, dat you should just give up and quit trying. Nobody would care if you were gone anyway, right?" Gambit still hadn't withdrawn his hand and caressed Kurt's cheek and jaw lightly, comforting Kurt as best he could.
"Why should anyone care about me?" Kurt looked up at Gambit with pleading eyes.
"Y' wrong. People do care about y'. De X-Men care, Amanda, y' girlfriend cares. Y' have friends who accept you for who y' are, not what you look like. It don' matter t' dem."
"I still don't see why."
"I can't tell y' why. I don' know dem or you well enough. But I do know dat dey accept you, dat dey aren't afraid of y' or t'ink anyt'ing bad of y'. Y' have a family wit' dem. Dat's all dat really matters, all you really need."
"I never really looked at it that way before." He looked at Gambit in gratitude. Maybe his life wasn't so bad. He had a family and a girl who he knew loved him in either form. He frowned as a thought hit him. "What about you? Where's your family?"
"Wit' Magneto." Gambit sounded happy and even proud that it could be that way.
"Why?"
"Same reason yours is wit' de X-Men. He didn't care about m' eyes. Didn't matter to him what color dey were what other people said about me. He took me in anyway." Kurt looked at him in understanding. Gambit nodded at him and withdrawing his hand stepped back into the trees preparing to leave.
"Wait!" Gambit paused a moment and looked back at him. "I know that we're supposed to be enemies and all but thanks for helping."
"Not a problem." He turned and continued to walk away.
"Right about now, though, I'm wishing that we weren't," Kurt whispered to himself but somehow Gambit managed to hear.
"Oui, but dat's life, no?" Gambit called back over his shoulder before disappearing into the forest.
"Yeah. To bad life isn't always what you want it to be." However, as he turned away and headed back for home he couldn't help but think that maybe life was exactly as it should be.
~Finis~