Author's Notes:
My take on Kurtty is that it is one of those pairings which I "tentatively accept," not because I don't like Kitty (she's "like, totally awesome"), but because I'm an insanely jealous psycho. Kitty is just the only one I've found who he fits with enough to write a romantic story about (my second choice would actually be Toad--does that scare you?).
There is a teensy-weensy spoiler for the book of short stories Different Seasons by Stephen King, just so you're warned...
You'll see a few episode references here and there. They're pretty subtle, so see if you can spot them.
The little numbers you see throughout the story are tidbits (somewhat behind-the-scenes-ish) that will inform you of this and that about the story. You can ignore them if you'd like, but if not, they are found at the bottom with the corresponding number. They'll start out somewhat numerous and then die down, and hopefully will not annoy anyone.
On with the story!
Chapter Three
Kitty twirled around lightly in front of her in-room mirror, trying to focus on whether the dress was hanging right or if her earrings really matched it or anything that kept her mind off of the crestfallen look Kurt had tried to hide from her the evening before. Her reflection seemed to be scrutinizing her in a very disapproving way. She was putting Kurt through quite an ordeal…and for what? Kitty thought she knew, but after all this time-
Knock knock knock. Kitty gasped softly and whirled to face her door. It was ten until seven…was he early? Her heart hammered, and she smoothed down her dress and hair once more before putting on a friendly-emphasis on the "friend"-smile. She opened the door…and Rogue's pale face was there to greet her. Kitty's smile fell, and she replaced it with a half-smirk.
"Oh. It's just you," Kitty sighed loudly and went back to her examining her appearance. Rogue lifted an eyebrow at her roommate and approached her own dresser.
"Ah love you too. Yer going to the dance, then?" Rogue brushed out her short, skunk-like hair with just a faint undertone of regret.
"Yeah, of course! Aren't you?" Kitty was surprised. She had thought Rogue had outgrown her anti-social tendencies-in the mansion, at least.
"Ah don't think so. You know what a lousy dancer Ah am."
"Rogue, no way! That lame excuse won't fly with me. I know why you're not going."
Rogue twisted around, an angry glare waiting to appear on her face. "What are you talking about? Ah just won't have a good tahme, that's all."
"Whatever. You need to lighten up already. I'm sure you could snag at least one dance with Scott."
Rogue's face flushed deeply, "Ah don't want to dance with Scott! What gave you that ahdea?"
"Rogue, please...," Kitty trailed off, and Rogue sighed.
"If Ah go, will you leave me alone about it?"
"Yeah, sure. I just don't like to think about you being up here all alone while everyone else is downstairs partying." Kitty put a hand on Rogue's shoulder, and Rogue sent her a lidded smile.
"What will Ah wear?"
Kitty squealed, "I have just the thing! It's-"
She was cut off by another, quieter knock on the door. In all her fuss over Rogue, she had nearly forgotten Kurt was coming. She threw Rogue a panicked look, and Rogue chuckled. "Ah'll git the door, you git the dress."
Kitty all but dove into her closet, [7] quickly rummaging around for her pale green dress. It came with elbow-high gloves to match, and she knew Rogue would look fantastic in it. However, at that moment, her mind wasn't much on Rogue.
Rogue poked her head around the closet door. "It's Kurt. Ah told him to wait outsahde. Did you fahnd it?"
Kitty shoved the dress into Rogue's hands and began to-once again-smooth down her hair. Rogue gave her a once over. "Ya look nahce, Cat.[8]" Kitty turned to Rogue in surprise, an anxious look pasted on her face. Rogue smirked again, "So does he."
Kitty swallowed heavily and made her way to the door. "Come down as soon as you're ready. I'll be looking for you."
"Ah'll be there. And thanks fer the dress."
Kitty nodded, and opened her door.
Kurt had his back to her, and seemed to be staring down the hallway, though there was nothing there. At the sound of the door, he spun around, and the look on his face amplified Kitty's unease-she didn't have to ask him how she looked.
He indulged her anyway, "Kitty...you look..." He trailed off, his eyes lost in hers, a regretful look upon his face, "I cannot even find a word to describe it."
Kitty put a coy hand to her mouth, and ducked her head. She did indeed look divine; her dress was a deep scarlet-the same color, in fact, that the inside of the ornament had been-with short, slightly puffed sleeves. The color shimmered somewhat when she moved about, giving her a glowing appearance. She had French-braided her hair, leaving her trademark two strands out for bangs. Kitty's stark blue eyes glittered with emotion as she in turn looked Kurt up and down-and he knew it, too. He put his hands behind his back, and for a moment looked exactly as he had last night in waiting for her response to his invitation.
Except that tonight, he looked like a prince to her. His hologram was on, of course, seeing as non-mutants would be attending this dance. Kurt was wearing pressed khakis and a white shirt which she could not see much of as it was covered by his black suit-like jacket. His hair was brushed neatly, but down, which Kitty preferred. She noticed suddenly that around his neck was a dainty black bowtie, and she giggled in delight. Kurt looked at her in surprise, but she just leaned forward and ran a finger over it, admiring the way it framed his face.
"Ah, you like the bowtie, ja? Storm put it on for me."
Kitty put a hand on his upper arm and smiled up at him, "It's cute. You look great." She was pleased with how well she was handling this. Miss Nonchalant, that's me, she thought to herself ruefully. She was, however, blown away by his appearance that night, and had to let herself get away with one thing.
"Kurt, may I ask you a favor?"
"Of course, liebling, vhat is it?" He ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"I want to do this," she reached out and pressed a button on his holowatch. His furry, blue self appeared-dressed strikingly, no less. "To see the real you. Just for a moment."
Kurt smiled, and put his head down, not sure what to make of Kitty's actions. He had always assumed she preferred his holographic self. He fidgeted in the hallway, somewhat nervous of an early guest wandering around looking for the bathroom.
"Hey, come on now," Kitty snaked a hand out to cup his chin, and gently raised his head to meet her eyes. "You look totally awesome, Kurt. Trust me. You can turn the watch back on, if you want."
He started to reach for the button, than dropped his hands to his sides, "You like zhe way I look?" Kurt couldn't keep the pathetic hopefulness out of his voice, anymore than the German-sounding 'the.'
Kitty blinked, her expression serious, and didn't answer for a minute; she just studied him, and ended up gazing into each his eyes for what may or may not have been several hours. Her stomach suddenly took on a netfull of butterflies, and without waiting for some reasonably sane part of her to speak up, she pushed forward into Kurt's arms.
Kurt took her in, not entirely surprised-he had seen the emotion in her eyes--but entirely pleased. The top of her forehead came up to his lips, and if he had had the nerve, he could have kissed her temple. As it was, he just held her close, sensing that she was fighting an inner battle he didn't completely understand. He heard a muffled, "Of course I do, Elf. You look very handsome."
She pulled back suddenly, her eyes alight with bickering frustration and tears, and he took the opportunity to turn his hologram back on. Behind Kitty, the door opened, and a very ravishing Rogue stepped out into the hall. She took in the scene in front of her and commented, "Gosh, yer slow. Shouldn't you two be dancing bah now?"
Kitty giggled a bit, and inside of the laughter, Kurt could hear her anguish. Rogue apparently did as well, for she stepped forward and took Kitty's elbow, sending them both an uncharacteristically bright smile. "What're we waitin' fer? Let's git to the dance." Kurt moved up and linked his arm with Kitty's other, and the three headed for the stairs.
"Wow, it's so beautiful in here," Kitty's mouth hung open as she surveyed the newly decorated recreation room. The furniture had all been pushed back or removed, and lights were strung up just about everywhere. There was even a disco ball hanging from the ceiling-except that with all of the Christmas lights about, the room was spotted in multi-colored bursts. Several small lamps lent the rest of the light, and the stereo (manned by Storm) was bopping out "Jingle Bell Rock." There were roughly twenty students at various stages of partying-most of them friends of either Jean or Scott. Rogue had immediately excused herself from Kurt and Kitty to fade into the wallpaper until she found that guts to ask Scott for the dance she wanted.
Kitty took one last, long look around the room-almost as though taking a mental snapshot-and then addressed Kurt, "So? You wanna dance or eat?"
Kurt's face lit up, "Let's eat!"
Kitty shook her head, "Figures. I, like, totally can't take you anywhere."
Kurt shrugged at her, and took off towards the food table, which held many a goodie. He loaded up with some of everything while Kitty snagged them a spot at one of the fold-out tables. Kurt managed to juggle the plate and two cups of punch at once, and took a seat by his friend. Kitty spent the next half-hour watching Kurt devour everything he could get his hands on, and by the time he was finished, she was starting to wonder why she'd bothered to come.
The truth was, Kurt was asking himself the same question. He knew his compulsive eating was more out of nervousness and-let's face it-cowardice than hunger. He looked at Kitty's bored, hopeful face, and knew he'd better get his act together.
"Kitty, will you excuse me for one moment?"
Kitty looked down at her folded hands, "Sure."
"I will be right back." He scurried off, taking refuge in the downstairs bathroom. The reflection in the mirror threw a dark glance at him as he stepped up to the sink to wash his hands and face and fiddle with his hair. For good measure, he chewed a stick of gum, too, still watching himself intently. "This is no big deal," he told the boy in the mirror, "We came as friends and we can dance as friends, too. No big deal at all."
He swallowed heavily and took leave of the bathroom, hoping Kitty hadn't given up on him. But there she was, no longer bored, but fraying her napkin and looking almost as though she was fighting tears-a desolate girl with lights dancing off her face as the mirthful "Winter Wonderland" played in her background. He approached and placed a light hand on her shoulder, and when she turned her head, her eyes were too bright and overly shiny.
Kurt's face slid into a concerned expression, and Kitty put on a smile for him. Kurt studied her for a moment, and finally, scuffing at the floor with his shoe, "Kitty?" It was so very German sounding, it elicited an inner smile from Kitty. Behind them, the song changed to the slower-paced "Christmas Time," which Kitty recognized as Hanson [9] and Kurt recognized as a shove in the right direction. It was time. "Will you dance with me?"
He was a bit thrown off by Kitty's beam in response, and even more so by her prompt, "Of course, Kurt!" She took his arm and lead him into the crowd, until the two were very nearly right under the disco ball, and this time, as it spun, rainbows danced upon both their faces.
"Ach," Kurt moaned, finally making out the tune, "Are we dancing to Hanson?" She giggled and draped her arms around his neck, while he hesitantly wrapped his around her back. They were very close, and he observed that she did not seem to mind it. She was, however, harried by that look again, and this time, he couldn't find it in himself to let it go.
"Kitty, are you all right?"
She cocked her head a bit in a casual gesture, but her eyes betrayed her. They shimmered with tears, though none had slipped yet. "I don't know, Kurt..." The words teetered on the edge of her tongue, but how could she tell him? "I'm trying to make the right decision, I guess."
"About vhat?"
She wrinkled her nose, "You snoop. Who says it's any of your business?" Except that it was, and the expression on his face told her he wasn't thrown off by her semi-harsh words.
"I'm your friend. I would like to help you."
Kitty sighed, "You can help me by just...just dancing with me," and pulled closer to him, unable to help herself. He was warm and he smelled good-how could she resist? Kurt drew in a breath and tightened his arms around her.
Kitty, awash in a feeling of deep-rooted comfort as the two lazily drifted in a small circle on the dance floor, was also experiencing a strange, slow flipping sensation all through her. The arms that held her now...so much time that had passed...shouldn't she be free to choose this for her own now? It seemed difficult now to remember exactly why she was still reining herself in. Though...her own fluttering pulse told her that. She was afraid, oh, frightened in some uneasy, prickling way that she knew meant she was very much in love with Kurt Wagner. It made her want to drop the entire ordeal, to keep running away as she had been, because that was so, so much easier. But Christmas had spent its magic upon her, and she found herself admitting that it might just be worth it to let herself have what she had wanted all along, and complete her life in some way.
"Kitty?" The song was coming to an end.
"Mmmhmm?" She didn't want to pull away.
"What are you thinking about?"
Kitty chuckled a little, and finally left his arms as the song died away and was replaced by "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." "I'm thinking that all that eating you did made me hungry. You up for some more food?"
Kurt placed his hand behind his head in his famous sheepish gesture, "Do you even have to ask?" They laughed in harmony, linked hands, and headed for the food table together, chatting easily about the decorations on the way.
[7]Uh...for some reason I gave them a walk-in closet...
[8]I don't know why, but it seems very right to have Rogue call Kitty "Cat," so I stuck it in there. For all I know, Kitty may hate being called that.
[9]I am a psycho Hanson fan, so I couldn't help but have them make a small appearance, since their Christmas album is so awesome, and "Christmas Time" is one of the songs they wrote themselves.
