Authors note: This is one of those weird chapters that was only supposed
to be a very short scene, but grew into something bigger. It might not
seem particularly consequential to the story, but I wanted some more
Brotherhood stuff. Don't worry - Rogue, Irene, Chuck and the Wagner's will
be making themselves known soon. Thanks for all the reviews you guys ---
they're what keeps me going (that and my rabid fan girl love for all things
Kurt and Rogue! ^^)
Being a Brit I haven't seen any of season three at all, so as far as this story is concerned, Pietro never betrayed the Brotherhood and Lance is still in charge. Just so you know ---
Dear Rogue.
I guess this letters comes kind of out of the blue, huh? Sorry about that. But there are some things that I need to say that I can't tell you to your face. I hope that you understand.
I miss you Rogue, and I miss us being friends. But I know that things can never go back to being how they were. Too much has happened. I'm so sorry that I made you angry, you have to believe that I didn't mean to. The truth is that I really do care about you. You're my sister, I know that now. I love you.
And that's why I'm going to leave you alone. You don't want a brother, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. I won't try to talk to you, and I'll try and stay out of your way. Maybe that way, you can forget about me, and then you can be happy again.
Please tell my family that I'm okay, and that I'm with friends. I don't want them worry about me.
Love,
Kurt.
Kurt stared down at the words he had written. It wasn't a particularly long letter, and yet it had taken him almost half an hour to write. It'd hadn't been his first attempt at it either - as testified by the numerous scrunched-up balls of paper littering the bedcovers. Funny, he had thought that writing it down would make it easier to say what he was thinking. If anything, it made it harder.
He gave a quiet growl of annoyance and ripped the sheet of paper from the pad. Scowling, he crumpled it into a wrinkled sphere and threw it against a nearby wall. It impacted softly and fell to the ground.
Writing a letter had - in a round about way - been Todd's idea. Their little 'talk' several days previously had made him realize that he couldn't keep avoiding the Rogue issue forever. It had been almost nine days since he had run away from the Xavier Institute --- nine days since he had last seen Rogue. He couldn't just leave things the way that they were. It wasn't fair on either of them.
A soft tapping on the door drew him from his thoughts. He didn't need to ask who it was - only one person knocked like that.
"Ja? Come in."
The door opened slightly and Todd Tolanski poked his head into the room. He was smiling. "Yo fuzz ball, the boys are putting a movie on downstairs," he lifted his pale eyebrows questioningly "You wanna watch?"
Kurt shifted from where he was sitting on the bed. His notepad was resting against his drawn-up knees, hands folded in his lap. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I'm okay here thanks."
"You sure? We're having a Star Wars marathon --- it'll be fun."
The blue furred mutant allowed a hint of a smirk to play on his mouth. "Funny, you never struck me as a sci-fi fan."
Todd grinned and hopped further into the bedroom. "I ain't --- but I do appreciate a good space babe when I see one."
"Space babe?" Kurt frowned, completely lost.
"Princess Lia. Man, she's so hot!"
"What? The chick with the Danish-pastries stuck to her head?"
The Toad scowled darkly. "Hey man, you're the one who had a crush on Tabitha Smith. You're hardly one to go knocking my taste in women."
Under his dark fur, Kurt felt the blood drain from his cheeks, pale eyes widening. "You know about that?!" he asked, cringing.
Todd sniggered. "Kitty told Lance, Lance told us. We have a system."
Kurt groaned and sank into the pillows propping him up. He made a mental note to kill Kitty. Then it occurred to him that he might never talk to Kitty again. It was a strange feeling. It made him uncomfortable.
The Brotherhood member kicked idly at the skirting board, long fingered hand running through his grimy hair. "So ---- what are you doing anyways? You've been up here by yourself for an hour or something." A sudden thought seemed to come to him, a look of revelation crossing his features. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey listen dude --- I wasn't, like, *interrupting* you was I? 'Cos you know, we usually just lock the door if we want to---"
"Huh?" Kurt looked confused. "I was just writing a letter."
Todd paused for a moment, then let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God for that. You would not *believe* how many times I've walked in on the guy's during their little 'private times', you know what I'm sayin? ---- that's why I always knock now." He shrugged, taking a slow hop forwards. "Who you writing to?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Rogue."
The Toad raised his eyebrows in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, not knowing what to say. Bug-like eyes blinked mutely.
Kurt lowered his head, allowing raven strands of hair to form a protective curtain across his field of vision. "I thought about what you said. You're right --- I can't just leave things the way they are."
Todd looked up hopefully. "So you're gonna try and talk to her?"
Mystique's young son paused, then slowly shook his head.
Todd remained motionless. "Then what are you going to do?"
"Everything that's happened --- everything that's gone wrong --- it's all been my fault." Kurt spoke carefully, unhurriedly, musing over the words as he spoke them. "I'm not going to be the one that causes Rogue pain --- I care about her too much for that. That's why I have to stay away." He shook his head, eyes clouded by a look of thought. "It's the only way."
The Brotherhood mutant watched him closely. He frowned slightly. "But you're her brother."
"Rogue doesn't want a brother." Kurt looked up at him wearily. "And she doesn't want *me*."
"How would you know?"
The furred-boy gave a short laugh. "Trust me, I know."
"How?" Todd scowled. "You've been hiding out here for the past two weeks. You haven't even talked to her. How the heck would you know what she wants?"
"She made her feelings pretty clear the last time we spoke." Kurt sneered, somewhat bitterly.
There was a considering quiet. Kurt kept his head lowered; even so, he could still feel the other boys gaze boring into his skull.
After a moment, Todd shrugged and took a step back. "Listen, I don't know what happened between you two that night, okay? What I do know is that no matter what you guys fought about --- it can't be worth losing your family over."
The ex-X-Man sniffed and looked up. Todd Tolanski was a scrawny, irresponsible bully --- and his long term enemy. And yet in the past few days, Kurt had come to realize that there was a separate side to the Toad. He could be insightful, cutting in his honesty, with a kind of jaded quality about him --- like he had been there, seen it all and come back with the t-shirt. It didn't make him any easier to respect, but a kind of understanding had passed between the two mutants. Right now, Todd was the closest thing that Kurt had to a friend.
Funny how things turned out.
Todd suddenly sighed and shrugged. "But it's your call, yo. Whatever you decide."
Kurt nodded tiredly. "I know." It was true. This was his decision alone --- and he knew that it was the right one to make. What had happened --- it had been his stupidity and selfishness that has caused it --- and he was the only one who could make it right again. Rogue's happiness was the most important thing to Kurt. If this was what was going to make her happy --- then that was what he had to do.
He gave a weak smile and looked up at Toad. "This is something that I've got to do."
Todd arched a single eyebrow, but remained silent.
Kurt tapped his pen thoughtfully against his notepad for a moment, then put it down. He was getting nowhere fast with his letter to Rogue, and more than that, he was getting lonely.
"I guess this can wait," he said, gesturing to the pad of paper. "I haven't watched Star Wars in months."
The pale-skinned mutant gave a quiet grunt and rose from where he had been crouching on the floor. "Why don't you take it with you?" he told him pointedly, "You X-Geeks are pretty smart --- I'm sure you can write *and* watch tv at the same time, right?"
Kurt took the hint. Swinging his slim legs over the edge of the bed, he picked up the pen and paper, cradling the pad under his arm. He glanced at Todd as he followed him to the doorway. "I'm not with the X-Men anymore; you think you could cut me some slack?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
Todd sniggered. "Listen fuzz face, don't think that you're gonna get any special treatment around here just 'cos you're the boss lady's kid, 'kay? You get the Brotherhood treatment, just the same as everyone else."
The Brotherhood treatment. What did that mean? Was he apart of the Brotherhood now? The thought hasn't occurred to him until that moment. He wasn't an X Man anymore; he knew that, but --- the Brotherhood? Could he -- -
Todd clicked his fingers impatiently, sallow brow pulled into a frown. "Come on, blue --- we've already missed the beginning, yo. You wanna hustle it some?"
Kurt grinned, flashing sharp feline fangs. "Keep you're stinking shirt on, slime ball. I'm coming."
-----The young man stared up at him with hate filled eyes, blood running in scarlet rivers across his skin.
"I'll never join you! You killed my father!"
Any humanity that might have been buried deep within him was concealed behind a pitiless black mask. His hollow breathing sliced through the silence --- voice like gravel rising from the depths.
"No Luke --- I *am* your father."-----
There was a unified intake of breath from the gathered teenagers, all watching the television screen intently. Kurt chewed tensely on a finger nail. He had forgotten how much he loved this movie. The parallel between his life and Luke Skywalker's didn't entirely escape him. Evil parent --- long lost sister --- the only thing Kurt lacked was his own lightsabre. Maybe he could talk to Forge about that ---
Sitting next to him, Todd shivered. "That's some scary shit," he breathed, as the young Jedi on the screen plummeted into a bottomless abyss. Looking around at the other Brotherhood members, Kurt noted that the sentiment was probably shared. They stared at the tv in a mixture of awe and trepidation. They all knew that Luke would survive --- there was another movie in the trilogy yet --- but for those few tense seconds of freefall ---
Freddy occupied the sofa, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I can't believe he made it," he said softly, shaking his head, "That was awesome."
Lance nodded his head wisely. "The Force was strong in that one."
The unmovable mutant's eyes were fixed on the screen. "Could you imagine having powers like that? That must be so cool."
Pietro wrinkled his nose. "He can pick up a lightsabre with his mind, big deal. That bitch Jean Grey could do that in her sleep."
There was an indignant pause. "Well, I think it's neat," Fred murmured, more to himself than anyone.
Kurt squirmed uncomfortably with the Jean reference. He opened his mouth to defend her, but then thought better of it. It wasn't like anyone was going to find out, and the last thing that he needed was to antagonize the wrath of Pietro Maximoff.
He gave the silver haired mutant a sidelong glance. Of all the Brotherhood, Pietro was the one who seemed the most reluctant to accept him as a permanent fixture. Maybe it was the clothes thing. Whatever the reason, he knew that it was going to take time before he and Quicksilver started hanging out by the bleachers together.
Todd was a different matter. Kurt watched as he hopped in excitement as the Millennium Falcon rescued Luke from the Cloud City. Funny, but now that he came to think of it, he couldn't remember why he and Toad were enemies. He had a vague recollection of a skirmish in the X-Mansion, the first day that he joined the Institute. It all seemed so pointless now --- so childish. In truth, he and Todd were a lot a like. Both were underdogs in their own ways, both the weakest in a team of strong mutants, both pretty weird looking. Under any other circumstances, Kurt imagined that they could have become friends. After all, once you got over the odor issue --- Todd wasn't such a bag guy. He just took a little getting used to.
The same went with Freddy. Fred Durst --- bad ass with a weight issue and a real mean temper --- that was what he had always thought of him. But that was only part of the story. The truth was that Fred was one of the sweetest, shyest people Kurt had ever met. He kept a volume of Shakespeare by his bed and a picture of his father in his wallet. He had accepted Kurt without question, and when Pietro started bitching he was the first one to defend the ex-X-Man.
Strange, but he was starting to get fond that big guy.
And Lance?
Kurt still wasn't sure about Lance. He was civil in a distant kind of way, understandable, when Kurt remembered what he had put him through when he had tried to join the Institute. A tinge of scarlet flushed his face when he thought back to what a jerk he had been. He wouldn't blame Lance if he had flatly refused to let him stay with them --- but he hadn't, and Kurt respected him for that.
He had always looked down on the Brotherhood with a mixture of distain and sympathy. Unlike the well oiled machine that was the X-Men, the Brotherhood appeared unorganized and ill-thought out. They wore the wrong clothes --- they flunked all of their classes --- their house was old and falling to bits --- and they had all made the unforgivable mistake of not wanting to be X-Men.
But now that he had spent time with them though, he knew that he had been mistaken. It sounded corny, even in his own head, but the Brotherhood were just that --- brothers. They argued and they bitched between themselves, but they came through for each other when it counted. It didn't matter that the paint was peeling from the walls, or that they had to keep the lights off to save on the electricity bill --- because sitting around the tv with the other four boys, Kurt felt like he was looking in on a family get-together. He couldn't remember feeling like that up at the mansion.
It made him wonder about how many things he had gotten wrong over the past few years.
"Do you think that a girl like Lia would go for a guy like me?"
Freddy gave a short laugh and looked at Todd. "You've got about as much chance with Lia as I have with Jessica Rabbit!"
The Toad-like mutant smiled dreamily and rested his face in his hands. "Did you see her in that gold-slave girl outfit?!"
"Yes," Lance sighed wearily, "We all watched it."
Todd gave a small shiver of happiness. "What I wouldn't give to be Jabba the Hut! He must be the luckiest guy alive!"
"Green --- slimy --- disgusting personal hygiene --- I'd say you were halfway to becoming him already, Toady my man" Pietro sniggered from his perch on the windowsill.
Todd rolled his eyes. "Hey Speedy, why don't you go jerk off? You're starting to get short tempered again."
Magneto's son snarled darkly, but didn't reply.
"Forget Lia," Freddy said, rising to his feet and pressing the eject button on the video player. "That Armidala chick's the one for me." He sighed. "Did you see her in that black corset thingy?"
Kurt shook his head, tapping his pen against his thigh. "Did you guys actually *watch* any of the movies?" he asked, raven eyebrows arched "Or were you just fantasizing about the women?"
Lance spoke up from his place in the armchair. "Hey, we're all normal heterosexual guys here." He paused, flashing a quick grin to Pietro. "Well, most of us anyway --- and you don't get much hotter than Lia in a gold bikini."
Todd elbowed Kurt sharply in the gut. "Ask him to tell you about the time he got Kitty to dress up in a slave girl outfit," he hissed quietly.
Kurt looked up sharply.
"Kitty?!"
It was much later when Kurt finally got Todd on his own. They stood in the Brotherhood boy's bedroom, occupying the only space of floor that wasn't covered in junk. Dirty laundry lay discarded all over the place, trash simply left to rot where it fell. Kurt had his tail draped over his arm protectively, and he was eyeing a molding banana skin with some trepidation. The smell was indescribable. He could only marvel that this room was capable at supporting human life.
"So? What do you think?"
Kurt looked anxiously at the other boy. Weird, but he really wanted his approval on this.
Todd screwed up his face in thought. "Kinda on the short side, don't ya think?"
Kurt scowled and shrugged. "I tried writing a long letter --- it didn't work so good. That's all that I want her to know."
The Toad sighed and looked up at him. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" He shook his head mournfully. "You're gonna be giving her up."
"It'll make her happy --- that's all I need to know."
Todd watched him closely for a moment, pale eyes uncharacteristically focused. A moment of silent understanding passed between them. Todd knew that it was pointless to try and argue --- Kurt was convinced.
"Soooo----" the boy ran a hand through his lank hair, sniffing thoughtfully. "How you gonna get this to her?"
Kurt paused, frowning. "Well, I ---"
"Maybe I can help you with that, hmmm?"
The voice behind them made both of the mutants turn in surprise. Leaning against the open doorframe, Pietro considered them coolly.
"You? Help me?" Kurt narrowed his gaze doubtfuly. "Why?"
The young Maximoff arched a silver eyebrow. "What, like a guy can't be nice for a change?"
"You? No."
Pietro scowled, pausing uncomfortably. He looked away quickly, making a theatrically show of examining his fingernails. A strand of snowy hair fell over his pale forehead. "Lets just say we've both got something in common, okay?"
Kurt blinked. As far as he could tell, he and Pietro Maximoff had absolutely *nothing* in common.
Quicksilver lifted his eyes to look at him. They were inky blue in color, sharp and glittering, like twin chips of ice. "We've both been shackled with long lost psycho sisters." He cleared his throat and held out his hand expectantly. "Where do you want it delivering too? Her locker? Her desk at school? How about her room up at X-Geek mansion --- it wouldn't take long."
The blue furred boy didn't like the thought of Pietro in Rogue's bedroom. It made him uncomfortable.
"Her locker --- but you don't have to do this. I can do it myself."
Pietro paused, then shook his head. "I made my costume in a quarter of a second flat. Trust me, delivering your mail to BHS won't take much time out of my hectic social schedule."
Todd snorted. "Fag."
"Bite me," Pietro shot back, without missing a beat.
Kurt looked uneasily at the letter in his hands. He nursed the paper lovingly for a moment, tracing his sister's name with a soft touch.
He was really going to miss her.
Swallowing, he handed the note to Pietro, who promptly zipped out of the room in a stream of silver. He lowered his head, conscious of Todd's ever watchful gaze.
"You sure that you wanted to do that, man?"
He slowly nodded. "I want her to be happy."
Todd sighed and looked out of the window. The sky was darkening to a midnight black, stars bright against the void-like dark. It looked cold out there.
"I hope you're doing the right thing."
Kurt gave a weak smile.
"So do I."
Being a Brit I haven't seen any of season three at all, so as far as this story is concerned, Pietro never betrayed the Brotherhood and Lance is still in charge. Just so you know ---
Dear Rogue.
I guess this letters comes kind of out of the blue, huh? Sorry about that. But there are some things that I need to say that I can't tell you to your face. I hope that you understand.
I miss you Rogue, and I miss us being friends. But I know that things can never go back to being how they were. Too much has happened. I'm so sorry that I made you angry, you have to believe that I didn't mean to. The truth is that I really do care about you. You're my sister, I know that now. I love you.
And that's why I'm going to leave you alone. You don't want a brother, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. I won't try to talk to you, and I'll try and stay out of your way. Maybe that way, you can forget about me, and then you can be happy again.
Please tell my family that I'm okay, and that I'm with friends. I don't want them worry about me.
Love,
Kurt.
Kurt stared down at the words he had written. It wasn't a particularly long letter, and yet it had taken him almost half an hour to write. It'd hadn't been his first attempt at it either - as testified by the numerous scrunched-up balls of paper littering the bedcovers. Funny, he had thought that writing it down would make it easier to say what he was thinking. If anything, it made it harder.
He gave a quiet growl of annoyance and ripped the sheet of paper from the pad. Scowling, he crumpled it into a wrinkled sphere and threw it against a nearby wall. It impacted softly and fell to the ground.
Writing a letter had - in a round about way - been Todd's idea. Their little 'talk' several days previously had made him realize that he couldn't keep avoiding the Rogue issue forever. It had been almost nine days since he had run away from the Xavier Institute --- nine days since he had last seen Rogue. He couldn't just leave things the way that they were. It wasn't fair on either of them.
A soft tapping on the door drew him from his thoughts. He didn't need to ask who it was - only one person knocked like that.
"Ja? Come in."
The door opened slightly and Todd Tolanski poked his head into the room. He was smiling. "Yo fuzz ball, the boys are putting a movie on downstairs," he lifted his pale eyebrows questioningly "You wanna watch?"
Kurt shifted from where he was sitting on the bed. His notepad was resting against his drawn-up knees, hands folded in his lap. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I'm okay here thanks."
"You sure? We're having a Star Wars marathon --- it'll be fun."
The blue furred mutant allowed a hint of a smirk to play on his mouth. "Funny, you never struck me as a sci-fi fan."
Todd grinned and hopped further into the bedroom. "I ain't --- but I do appreciate a good space babe when I see one."
"Space babe?" Kurt frowned, completely lost.
"Princess Lia. Man, she's so hot!"
"What? The chick with the Danish-pastries stuck to her head?"
The Toad scowled darkly. "Hey man, you're the one who had a crush on Tabitha Smith. You're hardly one to go knocking my taste in women."
Under his dark fur, Kurt felt the blood drain from his cheeks, pale eyes widening. "You know about that?!" he asked, cringing.
Todd sniggered. "Kitty told Lance, Lance told us. We have a system."
Kurt groaned and sank into the pillows propping him up. He made a mental note to kill Kitty. Then it occurred to him that he might never talk to Kitty again. It was a strange feeling. It made him uncomfortable.
The Brotherhood member kicked idly at the skirting board, long fingered hand running through his grimy hair. "So ---- what are you doing anyways? You've been up here by yourself for an hour or something." A sudden thought seemed to come to him, a look of revelation crossing his features. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey listen dude --- I wasn't, like, *interrupting* you was I? 'Cos you know, we usually just lock the door if we want to---"
"Huh?" Kurt looked confused. "I was just writing a letter."
Todd paused for a moment, then let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God for that. You would not *believe* how many times I've walked in on the guy's during their little 'private times', you know what I'm sayin? ---- that's why I always knock now." He shrugged, taking a slow hop forwards. "Who you writing to?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Rogue."
The Toad raised his eyebrows in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, not knowing what to say. Bug-like eyes blinked mutely.
Kurt lowered his head, allowing raven strands of hair to form a protective curtain across his field of vision. "I thought about what you said. You're right --- I can't just leave things the way they are."
Todd looked up hopefully. "So you're gonna try and talk to her?"
Mystique's young son paused, then slowly shook his head.
Todd remained motionless. "Then what are you going to do?"
"Everything that's happened --- everything that's gone wrong --- it's all been my fault." Kurt spoke carefully, unhurriedly, musing over the words as he spoke them. "I'm not going to be the one that causes Rogue pain --- I care about her too much for that. That's why I have to stay away." He shook his head, eyes clouded by a look of thought. "It's the only way."
The Brotherhood mutant watched him closely. He frowned slightly. "But you're her brother."
"Rogue doesn't want a brother." Kurt looked up at him wearily. "And she doesn't want *me*."
"How would you know?"
The furred-boy gave a short laugh. "Trust me, I know."
"How?" Todd scowled. "You've been hiding out here for the past two weeks. You haven't even talked to her. How the heck would you know what she wants?"
"She made her feelings pretty clear the last time we spoke." Kurt sneered, somewhat bitterly.
There was a considering quiet. Kurt kept his head lowered; even so, he could still feel the other boys gaze boring into his skull.
After a moment, Todd shrugged and took a step back. "Listen, I don't know what happened between you two that night, okay? What I do know is that no matter what you guys fought about --- it can't be worth losing your family over."
The ex-X-Man sniffed and looked up. Todd Tolanski was a scrawny, irresponsible bully --- and his long term enemy. And yet in the past few days, Kurt had come to realize that there was a separate side to the Toad. He could be insightful, cutting in his honesty, with a kind of jaded quality about him --- like he had been there, seen it all and come back with the t-shirt. It didn't make him any easier to respect, but a kind of understanding had passed between the two mutants. Right now, Todd was the closest thing that Kurt had to a friend.
Funny how things turned out.
Todd suddenly sighed and shrugged. "But it's your call, yo. Whatever you decide."
Kurt nodded tiredly. "I know." It was true. This was his decision alone --- and he knew that it was the right one to make. What had happened --- it had been his stupidity and selfishness that has caused it --- and he was the only one who could make it right again. Rogue's happiness was the most important thing to Kurt. If this was what was going to make her happy --- then that was what he had to do.
He gave a weak smile and looked up at Toad. "This is something that I've got to do."
Todd arched a single eyebrow, but remained silent.
Kurt tapped his pen thoughtfully against his notepad for a moment, then put it down. He was getting nowhere fast with his letter to Rogue, and more than that, he was getting lonely.
"I guess this can wait," he said, gesturing to the pad of paper. "I haven't watched Star Wars in months."
The pale-skinned mutant gave a quiet grunt and rose from where he had been crouching on the floor. "Why don't you take it with you?" he told him pointedly, "You X-Geeks are pretty smart --- I'm sure you can write *and* watch tv at the same time, right?"
Kurt took the hint. Swinging his slim legs over the edge of the bed, he picked up the pen and paper, cradling the pad under his arm. He glanced at Todd as he followed him to the doorway. "I'm not with the X-Men anymore; you think you could cut me some slack?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
Todd sniggered. "Listen fuzz face, don't think that you're gonna get any special treatment around here just 'cos you're the boss lady's kid, 'kay? You get the Brotherhood treatment, just the same as everyone else."
The Brotherhood treatment. What did that mean? Was he apart of the Brotherhood now? The thought hasn't occurred to him until that moment. He wasn't an X Man anymore; he knew that, but --- the Brotherhood? Could he -- -
Todd clicked his fingers impatiently, sallow brow pulled into a frown. "Come on, blue --- we've already missed the beginning, yo. You wanna hustle it some?"
Kurt grinned, flashing sharp feline fangs. "Keep you're stinking shirt on, slime ball. I'm coming."
-----The young man stared up at him with hate filled eyes, blood running in scarlet rivers across his skin.
"I'll never join you! You killed my father!"
Any humanity that might have been buried deep within him was concealed behind a pitiless black mask. His hollow breathing sliced through the silence --- voice like gravel rising from the depths.
"No Luke --- I *am* your father."-----
There was a unified intake of breath from the gathered teenagers, all watching the television screen intently. Kurt chewed tensely on a finger nail. He had forgotten how much he loved this movie. The parallel between his life and Luke Skywalker's didn't entirely escape him. Evil parent --- long lost sister --- the only thing Kurt lacked was his own lightsabre. Maybe he could talk to Forge about that ---
Sitting next to him, Todd shivered. "That's some scary shit," he breathed, as the young Jedi on the screen plummeted into a bottomless abyss. Looking around at the other Brotherhood members, Kurt noted that the sentiment was probably shared. They stared at the tv in a mixture of awe and trepidation. They all knew that Luke would survive --- there was another movie in the trilogy yet --- but for those few tense seconds of freefall ---
Freddy occupied the sofa, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I can't believe he made it," he said softly, shaking his head, "That was awesome."
Lance nodded his head wisely. "The Force was strong in that one."
The unmovable mutant's eyes were fixed on the screen. "Could you imagine having powers like that? That must be so cool."
Pietro wrinkled his nose. "He can pick up a lightsabre with his mind, big deal. That bitch Jean Grey could do that in her sleep."
There was an indignant pause. "Well, I think it's neat," Fred murmured, more to himself than anyone.
Kurt squirmed uncomfortably with the Jean reference. He opened his mouth to defend her, but then thought better of it. It wasn't like anyone was going to find out, and the last thing that he needed was to antagonize the wrath of Pietro Maximoff.
He gave the silver haired mutant a sidelong glance. Of all the Brotherhood, Pietro was the one who seemed the most reluctant to accept him as a permanent fixture. Maybe it was the clothes thing. Whatever the reason, he knew that it was going to take time before he and Quicksilver started hanging out by the bleachers together.
Todd was a different matter. Kurt watched as he hopped in excitement as the Millennium Falcon rescued Luke from the Cloud City. Funny, but now that he came to think of it, he couldn't remember why he and Toad were enemies. He had a vague recollection of a skirmish in the X-Mansion, the first day that he joined the Institute. It all seemed so pointless now --- so childish. In truth, he and Todd were a lot a like. Both were underdogs in their own ways, both the weakest in a team of strong mutants, both pretty weird looking. Under any other circumstances, Kurt imagined that they could have become friends. After all, once you got over the odor issue --- Todd wasn't such a bag guy. He just took a little getting used to.
The same went with Freddy. Fred Durst --- bad ass with a weight issue and a real mean temper --- that was what he had always thought of him. But that was only part of the story. The truth was that Fred was one of the sweetest, shyest people Kurt had ever met. He kept a volume of Shakespeare by his bed and a picture of his father in his wallet. He had accepted Kurt without question, and when Pietro started bitching he was the first one to defend the ex-X-Man.
Strange, but he was starting to get fond that big guy.
And Lance?
Kurt still wasn't sure about Lance. He was civil in a distant kind of way, understandable, when Kurt remembered what he had put him through when he had tried to join the Institute. A tinge of scarlet flushed his face when he thought back to what a jerk he had been. He wouldn't blame Lance if he had flatly refused to let him stay with them --- but he hadn't, and Kurt respected him for that.
He had always looked down on the Brotherhood with a mixture of distain and sympathy. Unlike the well oiled machine that was the X-Men, the Brotherhood appeared unorganized and ill-thought out. They wore the wrong clothes --- they flunked all of their classes --- their house was old and falling to bits --- and they had all made the unforgivable mistake of not wanting to be X-Men.
But now that he had spent time with them though, he knew that he had been mistaken. It sounded corny, even in his own head, but the Brotherhood were just that --- brothers. They argued and they bitched between themselves, but they came through for each other when it counted. It didn't matter that the paint was peeling from the walls, or that they had to keep the lights off to save on the electricity bill --- because sitting around the tv with the other four boys, Kurt felt like he was looking in on a family get-together. He couldn't remember feeling like that up at the mansion.
It made him wonder about how many things he had gotten wrong over the past few years.
"Do you think that a girl like Lia would go for a guy like me?"
Freddy gave a short laugh and looked at Todd. "You've got about as much chance with Lia as I have with Jessica Rabbit!"
The Toad-like mutant smiled dreamily and rested his face in his hands. "Did you see her in that gold-slave girl outfit?!"
"Yes," Lance sighed wearily, "We all watched it."
Todd gave a small shiver of happiness. "What I wouldn't give to be Jabba the Hut! He must be the luckiest guy alive!"
"Green --- slimy --- disgusting personal hygiene --- I'd say you were halfway to becoming him already, Toady my man" Pietro sniggered from his perch on the windowsill.
Todd rolled his eyes. "Hey Speedy, why don't you go jerk off? You're starting to get short tempered again."
Magneto's son snarled darkly, but didn't reply.
"Forget Lia," Freddy said, rising to his feet and pressing the eject button on the video player. "That Armidala chick's the one for me." He sighed. "Did you see her in that black corset thingy?"
Kurt shook his head, tapping his pen against his thigh. "Did you guys actually *watch* any of the movies?" he asked, raven eyebrows arched "Or were you just fantasizing about the women?"
Lance spoke up from his place in the armchair. "Hey, we're all normal heterosexual guys here." He paused, flashing a quick grin to Pietro. "Well, most of us anyway --- and you don't get much hotter than Lia in a gold bikini."
Todd elbowed Kurt sharply in the gut. "Ask him to tell you about the time he got Kitty to dress up in a slave girl outfit," he hissed quietly.
Kurt looked up sharply.
"Kitty?!"
It was much later when Kurt finally got Todd on his own. They stood in the Brotherhood boy's bedroom, occupying the only space of floor that wasn't covered in junk. Dirty laundry lay discarded all over the place, trash simply left to rot where it fell. Kurt had his tail draped over his arm protectively, and he was eyeing a molding banana skin with some trepidation. The smell was indescribable. He could only marvel that this room was capable at supporting human life.
"So? What do you think?"
Kurt looked anxiously at the other boy. Weird, but he really wanted his approval on this.
Todd screwed up his face in thought. "Kinda on the short side, don't ya think?"
Kurt scowled and shrugged. "I tried writing a long letter --- it didn't work so good. That's all that I want her to know."
The Toad sighed and looked up at him. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" He shook his head mournfully. "You're gonna be giving her up."
"It'll make her happy --- that's all I need to know."
Todd watched him closely for a moment, pale eyes uncharacteristically focused. A moment of silent understanding passed between them. Todd knew that it was pointless to try and argue --- Kurt was convinced.
"Soooo----" the boy ran a hand through his lank hair, sniffing thoughtfully. "How you gonna get this to her?"
Kurt paused, frowning. "Well, I ---"
"Maybe I can help you with that, hmmm?"
The voice behind them made both of the mutants turn in surprise. Leaning against the open doorframe, Pietro considered them coolly.
"You? Help me?" Kurt narrowed his gaze doubtfuly. "Why?"
The young Maximoff arched a silver eyebrow. "What, like a guy can't be nice for a change?"
"You? No."
Pietro scowled, pausing uncomfortably. He looked away quickly, making a theatrically show of examining his fingernails. A strand of snowy hair fell over his pale forehead. "Lets just say we've both got something in common, okay?"
Kurt blinked. As far as he could tell, he and Pietro Maximoff had absolutely *nothing* in common.
Quicksilver lifted his eyes to look at him. They were inky blue in color, sharp and glittering, like twin chips of ice. "We've both been shackled with long lost psycho sisters." He cleared his throat and held out his hand expectantly. "Where do you want it delivering too? Her locker? Her desk at school? How about her room up at X-Geek mansion --- it wouldn't take long."
The blue furred boy didn't like the thought of Pietro in Rogue's bedroom. It made him uncomfortable.
"Her locker --- but you don't have to do this. I can do it myself."
Pietro paused, then shook his head. "I made my costume in a quarter of a second flat. Trust me, delivering your mail to BHS won't take much time out of my hectic social schedule."
Todd snorted. "Fag."
"Bite me," Pietro shot back, without missing a beat.
Kurt looked uneasily at the letter in his hands. He nursed the paper lovingly for a moment, tracing his sister's name with a soft touch.
He was really going to miss her.
Swallowing, he handed the note to Pietro, who promptly zipped out of the room in a stream of silver. He lowered his head, conscious of Todd's ever watchful gaze.
"You sure that you wanted to do that, man?"
He slowly nodded. "I want her to be happy."
Todd sighed and looked out of the window. The sky was darkening to a midnight black, stars bright against the void-like dark. It looked cold out there.
"I hope you're doing the right thing."
Kurt gave a weak smile.
"So do I."