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 Four
"Different Seasons? What is it?" Kitty frowned at the book in her hands.
"It's by Stephen King [10]," Kurt answered, a bit nervously, "but it is not horror. There are four short stories, and one of them is the one Stand By Me is based on. You know, zhe movie we watched last week?" Kurt swallowed with relief as Kitty's eyes brightened a bit, and the corners of her lips turned up in delight.
"Of course I know, I love that movie! Thanks, Kurt, this is really awesome."
Kurt didn't reply, just grinned to himself. He had spent some time pondering on a Christmas gift for Kitty, and her love for reading had sparked his idea. He hadn't wanted to push something personal on her...not yet.
"All right, your turn, Fuzzy," Kitty slipped Kurt a tidily wrapped present about the size of a shoebox through the mess of torn and tattered wrappings already littering the floor. He eagerly ripped the outer covering off and pulled the top off of what turned out to actually be a shoebox, and his mouth opened in surprise. Kurt took the gift into his hands while Kitty looked on, feeling semi-anxious.
What Kurt held in his hands was a photo frame she had crafted herself. It was roughly eight inches high and four inches wide, and gleamed a deep, enchanting red. Around the edge, in glittery gold letters, "Friends Make Christmas Magic," was written. Inside of the frame was a picture taken of the two of them sometime that autumn, when they had been outside helping the group rake the yard. Kurt had an arm slung around Kitty, and they were both all smiles after a leaf-throwing fight. There were leaves clinging to their clothes and strewn all through their hair, but both Kurt and Kitty grinned like Cheshire cats at the camera.
Kurt put his odd, furry hand to his mouth, somewhat embarrassed to realize that his eyes were tearing up. He blinked a bit, and then laughed at himself, giving Kitty a very un-Kurt-like hard, serious look. She returned it, emotion dancing in her eyes. He reached out and squeezed her hand, "Thank you, Kitty. It is wonderful."
"You like it?" It was a silly question, but Kurt knew Kitty just needed to be reassured.
"Ja, I love it."
"I'm glad. You can change out the picture if you want to," she added quickly.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you crazy? I wouldn't do that. It's a great picture."
Kitty looked to her lap, and around the room, blushing with pleasure. Christmas morning had dawned brightly-sun sparkled off of the snow in mad glitters. The students and their instructors had been gathered around the tree for only fifteen minutes, and the gift-opening was nearly finished. She and Kurt had settled in a private corner to exchange their presents, and now she noticed that the group had drifted apart a bit. Scott and Jean had found their own secluded nook, and were both as red as she. Logan was sprawled out on the stairs, Ororo by his side, looking amused at whatever he had to say. Rogue was wandering around picking up bits and pieces of tattered Christmas leftovers, chatting amiably to the professor, who watched the group with his knowing smile.
They made quite a group, and Evan's absence tugged at Kitty, who was used to having the entire, happy pseudo-family around. Kitty herself was only spending the holidays at the mansion by way of luck-her parents had won a two-person cruise in the Bahamas scheduled for just before Christmas until just after New Years. They had apologized profusely and had offered to pass it up, but Kitty had shrugged it off. A Christmas at the mansion with her friends would be every bit as warm and loving as one with her family was. It wasn't that she wouldn't (or didn't) miss them, but they had invited her to spend a few days at home shortly after New Years before school was back in session, and she was all right with the whole arrangement.
"All right, enough of this nonsense," Logan stood up, "It's time for breakfast. I'm cookin'."
"Excellent idea, Logan." The professor wheeled himself towards the kitchen.
Rogue followed,. "What're we havin'?"
Kurt and Kitty stole a look at each other. "Sausages," they spoke up in unison, and giggled together while Logan hid his smile.
"Go get dressed, ya runts, and be back down in ten minutes."
Kitty gathered up her gifts, including the already much-loved book, and scampered up the stairs with a light heart and Kurt at her heels.
BAMF! Kurt poked his head around the entrance he had teleported to and sighted Kitty just where she had been for the last four hours-on the couch in the rec room, curled up with his book. He was pleased that she was enjoying it, but he missed her company, and Christmas day was quickly waning away. He had been deliberating stopping in for a quick hello, but somehow hadn't mustered himself up to bother her yet. Kitty was feisty about her privacy sometimes, and he didn't want to irritate her on this beautiful day.
However, he wasn't always one to conform to his good senses, and knew by now that he may as well not even bother arguing with himself-he'd end up going in there whether it was the right thing to do or not. He was a follower of the heart. He closed his eyes tightly, heart pounding, and BAMF!
"Ahhhh!" Kitty's scream pierced the air as Kurt appeared next to her on the couch, and Different Seasons went flying-right at Kurt's head.
"Whoa!" Kurt BAMFed again, this time to an upside down position from the hanging light. The book flopped harmlessly onto floor.
Kitty, hands in a defensive position, finally slowed her breathing and glanced up, where Kurt looked shamefaced at her. Her face went red, and she fell naturally into a heated tone, "Kurt! Do you mind? You shouldn't sneak up on people!"
Kurt grimaced, and made an agile leap to the floor. He scooped up Kitty's book and handed it to her, his head down. She took it silently, frowning. "I'm sorry, Kitty." He backed away towards the door, hands up in an apologetic gesture.
"Kurt, wait, don't leave," Kurt stopped, narrowing a wary eye at his nettled friend. Kitty sighed heavily, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. You really spooked me, though." She patted the couch, "Here. Come sit down."
Kurt smiled, and joined her on the couch. They both settled down in cross-legged positions facing each other, and Kitty ruffled through the pages of her book. "Look, you furball, you made me lose my place." She didn't seem too annoyed, however.
"Is the book a horror novel after all?"
"Huh? Oh, no, not really... But it has some pretty creepy parts in it. You just picked the wrong time to 'port in here."
"Ah, I see. Do you mind if I sit here while you read? I promise to be quiet."
Kitty half-smirked at him, while agreeing, "Oh, all right." She flipped idly through the book, and succeeded in finding the page she was on. Her eyes scanned the page rapidly, and Kurt watched her intently, fascinated by what an avid reader she was. The expression on her face was so serious...she looked so eager as she turned the page to continue on with the fantasy she was absorbed in. She rose her eyebrows at one line, and at one point, stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth as though trying to concentrate. Kurt didn't think Kitty was even aware she was doing these things.
Kurt's tail swished soundlessly around him as he observed, and finally settled down in front of him-quite near the top of Kitty's book, which rested on the sofa. He took in in a silent breath when she absently reached out and began stroking the base of the spade tip lightly. It was so faint he could hardly feel it-especially through the fur-and yet it was still a fluttery, enjoyable sensation. Kitty continued to fondle and Kurt continued to take in the sight-and feel-of her. She had once asked him if his tail was overly sensitive to touch, and he had told her no, which wasn't the entire truth of it. His tail was really just something like an extra limb, and most of it-the base, the length, the tip of the spade-were as responsive to touch as, say, his arm would be. However, directly below the spade's tip, yet somewhere close to its base, there was a certain area-a small one-that seemed ultra-tender to him, though no one but himself had ever explored it.
Kitty's probings were very close to this spot.
Kurt wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't want to pull away-for more reasons than one-but he could feel his entire body slowly heating up. Though he couldn't see them, the tips of his ears had gone a dark shade of purple. Kitty read on, seemingly oblivious to her affect on him. He squirmed a little as her fingers danced just centimeters closer...and then hit right there-right on it-bringing forth a bare hiss from his lips.
Stephen King must have indeed been an enthralling writer-Kitty didn't lift her eyes, just continued to draw lazy circles through his fur. Kurt's eyes rolled up to the ceiling, and he gritted his teeth, feeling sweat dampen the fuzz on his brow-
Kitty gasped suddenly-presumably as some "creepy" section jumped out at her-and squeezed the entire base of the spade of Kurt's tail in a tight, warm fist. Kurt could hold out no longer, and pulled away with an, "Ahhhh!" not unlike (and yet so different) than Kitty's earlier cry. Kitty shrieked back and shoved herself away from him, and they found themselves staring at each other from separate ends of the couch.
Kitty mentally pulled herself out of the story (and physically let it drop to the floor), and it didn't take her long to realize what she'd done, "Oh, Kurt, I'm sorry! Did I hurt your tail?"
"Ahh...I'm okay, Kitty," was all he could manage.
"Oh, poor elf! I really am sorry, but this guy just stuck a cat in the oven!"
"Wha-?" Kurt was too frazzled to process that disturbing picture, "Ah, don't worry, Kitty...it's okay..." He was shocked to realize that warmth was racing all up and down his body still, and that he was probably still blushing furiously.
As though reading his thoughts, Kitty took a moment to study the teleporter more closely, "Are you sure? You look really flushed-" She cut off, and her mouth formed a humorous "o" as she put the pieces together. Her voice dropped to an awkward, embarrassed whisper, "I'm so sorry..."
Kurt swallowed, and attempted to chuckle, "As I said, zhe fuzzy man is fine, but, ah, I think I'll just, ah-" Kitty knew her Nightcrawler well enough to know when he was on the verge of 'porting out on her, and quickly crawled forward to take his wrist.
"No, Kurt, don't leave just because I wasn't, like, paying attention and did something stupid. I'm really enjoying your company."
"Heh. What's to enjoy? I'm just sitting here." He rubbed his upper arm with his free hand, and Kitty let go of him, rocking back onto her heels. A thoughtful look took hold of her face.
"I don't know..." she seemed to seriously be considering it, "Something about having you near. It's..." She trailed off, uncertain and feeling as though she had said too much.
"It's vhat?"
"It's...cozy." There, she'd said it.
"Cozy, eh?" His familiar twinkle had reappeared in his eyes, and he arched his eyebrows mock seductively.
Kitty tittered, "Oh, stop! You know what I mean...don't you?"
His cheeky grin faltered a bit, "Ja, I do."
Kitty's face colored slightly, and she scowled at herself, "It's just better when you're around, all right?"
Kurt's expression was serious, "All right." He pointed to the forgotten book, "Are you going to keep reading, then?"
Kitty expelled the breath she was holding and leaned away from him to reach for her book. Her fingers grazed Different Seasons, and its pages had flopped over in such a way that the last page of the book was showing-and the envelope glued to the inside of its back cover was visible to all. Kitty knit her brows as she pulled the novel back up into her lap, examining her unexpected discovery, "What's this?" The envelope was small, white, and blank. It's flap was folded into the slot, and Kitty freed it, finding that a folded piece of paper was tucked inside. She gingerly coaxed it out and unfolded it, curiously looking it over.
Had she glanced up at Kurt, she would have seen him fidgeting and looking quite ill at ease. He had the vaguest feeling that he should make himself scarce, but his desire to see Kitty's reaction to his note in person was currently rooting him to his spot. He noticed in a far off way that his heart was thudding heavily in his chest, and the expression on his face would have most likely melted Kitty's heart.
But Kitty's attention wasn't on Kurt at all. She studied the note in her hands carefully-it was so neatly creased, and written in dark, boyish handwriting-and the words...were they meant for her? At the signature, she finally looked up, first staring straight ahead in wonder, and then swivelled her head to Kurt, as though just remembering that he was still in the room with her. "Kurt...?"
Kurt could think of nothing to say except, "You were supposed to finish the book first."
"So...it is from you?"
"Ja. Ah...Kitty...I..." And with not another word, he BAMFed from her sight. She stared at the empty space, the letter in here hand floating to the floor. It read:
Kitty,
"Be thou like a cat.
For a cat, it is enough to lie upon a lap,
accepting the caresses,
but just so much as pleaseth it!
For thus all cats are content." [11]
I love you so very much, mein Katzchen.
Kurt
Scott stirred his drink lazily, watching as the evening's light snow piled down finally began to let up outside the foyer window. He sipped the cocoa, feeling exceptionally at ease, and meaning to linger on that rare sensation for as long as possible.
Which turned out to be all of three minutes.
BAMF! Scott reeled from the sudden onset of throat-clogging smoke, covering his cup and his mouth at the same time. Kurt cocked his head at the spluttering Scott sighed. "I just can't get through this day without bothering everyone, can I?"
Scott held up his free hand in a gesture Kurt took as a request to not teleport off. He crossed his arms and studied the plush floor, his head still whirling from the turn of events involving Kitty. Scott took a long gulp from his mug and finally choked out, "What's wrong, Kurt?"
Kurt scuffed at the floor with his bare two-toed foot, not sure how much to reveal. He wandered over to the stairs and sat himself down, head in hands. Scott considered his friend's expression and it began to dawn on him what may (or may not) have been occurring in Kurt's life. "Does this have something to do with Kitty?"
Kurt hung his head, not incredibly surprised that Scott had seen right through him, "Ja."
Scott joined Kurt on the staircase, and came into the insight that Kurt would probably not be willing to hand out all the details. So he asked, "What are you going to do about it?"
At this, Kurt clenched his fists and jumped agilely to his feet, "I don't know! I knew I was taking a dumb chance, but I did it anyway! Vhat was I thinking? Vhat am I going to do now?"
This gave Scott more than enough information to fill in the blanks. He put a hand to his chin in his typical thoughtful pose. "I think you already know what you've got to do. You're just waiting for the courage to do it. You're a great guy, Kurt. There's no reason why you shouldn't go for it."
Kurt looked down at him with him the most pitiful expression Scott had ever seen, and he rolled his shade-covered eyes to the ceiling. "Look, I'll go with you and hang around outside for moral support. Okay?"
"All right..." Kurt leaned over, put a hand on Scott's shoulder, and the two BAMFed off to what Kurt was beginning to feel would be a very awkward moment.
Kitty hadn't moved from her rigid spot on the couch, but she jumped almost a foot when Jean popped her head in the room and asked, "Scott made cocoa. Would you like some?"
"No."
"Are you all right?"
"Yes...no...I don't know."
"Hmm... Is this about Kurt?"
Kitty shrugged, still mentally careening from the scene which had taken place not ten minutes ago. Different Seasons lay open in front of her, the essential note lying docilely atop its pages. Jean's instant reading of her neither bothered nor shocked her. She simply could not force herself to a reaction to a situation which clearly called for one.
Jean raised an eyebrow and meandered over to the sofa, teasingly waving a hand in front of her vacant-eyed friend's face. Kitty's expression was quite anxious, but also tinged with in air of frozen appal. "Kitty, what happened?"
Kitty sort of gasped, and her absent emotions flooded into her with all the force of a tsunami. "He loves me..."
"Huh?" Jean looked down at the book, and reached for the letter without permission. Kitty was in no state to approve or disapprove; she looked as though she was going to faint. Jean gave a cursory glance to the message and looked back up to her friend. "Whoa. So where is he?"
"He's gone." Kitty's tone had gone back to flat.
Jean let Kurt's admission float back to Kitty's book and firmly took Kitty's shoulders. She shook hard. "Kitty, snap out of it!"
Kitty gritted her teeth, "Okay, okay. I just...didn't know he felt so strongly..."
Jean gave her a sideways look, "Just as strongly as you do."
Kitty didn't bother to deny it-to anyone else or to herself. She stood up. "Can you find him for me?"
Jean nodded, and put both hands to the sides of her head. After a moment, she turned back to Kitty, "He's in the hallway."
"Will you go with me?"
"Yes, but just to walk you out."
Kitty didn't speak further, just clasped Jean's wrist and phased them both out into the hallway, where Scott had his hands on Kurt's back, apparently trying to shove him closer to the rec room door. They both laid their eyes upon the two girls at the same time, and Kurt took a step back, bumping Scott into the hallway table. Scott pushed out passed the teleporter and greeted his red-haired girl, "Hey, Jean."
"Hey, Scott."
Scott reached out and put his rare hand-around-the-waist maneuver on Jean, his other hand still nursing the almost-empty cocoa mug, "I'm up for some more cocoa. How about you?"
"Definitely." Jean patted Kitty's shoulder and she and Scott made a hasty exit, leaving a panicked Kurt and a stunned Kitty behind them..
Kurt bit his lip and looked away, unable to find the words to say to Kitty to put this all behind them. Fortunately for him, she spoke first.
"Kurt... Thank you for the poem. Did you write it?"
Kurt was startled, but answered honestly, "No. I found it in one of the professor's books, and I thought of you."
Kitty nodded, "I may have thought I was content, Kurt, but now..."
"What do you mean, Kitty?"
Kitty knew only one way to do this. She stepped forward and grasped his upper arm gently, and phased them into the recreation room for more privacy. It was still decorated for the Christmas Ball, and the many multi-colored lights shone brightly in the dimming room. Outside, Christmas Day was coming to a close.
Kurt watched the luminance dance around in Kitty's eyes, and waited. It seemed to be her move, now. She tilted her head a bit, moving closer to him, her arms finding their way around his neck. He felt a sense of dizziness seize his head, and a gentle warmth filled them both as she met his lips in a soft, moment-defining kiss. He closed his eyes in bliss, wrapping his arms around her waist. Kitty could feel Kurt's extremely delicate fur brush the skin atop her lips, and a small shiver passed through her as she pulled away.
Kurt smiled down at her, and she could see now that his eyes were filled with love. Joyful tears stung her eyes, but did not escape. One thought echoed through Kitty's mind as she studied his pale eyes in the darkness. This is something new, indeed. She couldn't keep a grin from stealing over her features and slipped her arms around him once more. "Merry Christmas, Kurt," seemed the most right thing to say then. Except maybe, "I love you."
His mouth slipped open a bit at that, and the tips of his ears flushed darkly. "Merry Christmas, Kitty." He pulled her close, and with when she tipped her head down against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat. He was near tears himself as he gave to her with sincerity the words he had waited so long to say aloud, "I love you, too."
Outside, the snow stopped falling, the clouds cleared, and the stars came out to shine down on the two new lovers, who leaned in for one more kiss.
[10]As you know, I'm an avid Stephen King reader, and that was a very entertaining book.
[11]From Liturgy of Love, except that I tweaked it a bit to suit my own purposes.
The End
Reviews are appreciated!
