*******
just to repeat the disclaimer---I don't own X-men, they belong to Marvel, etc. I do however own Alexia Tambor, Zydane Maylor, and any Ocs related to them.
*******
"Come on Kurt!" Alexia called up the bus stairs. "Zydane's probably waiting for us."
Kurt slowly stepped down off the bus. With his image inducer on, he looked like a normal teenager, with longish black hair and a Caucasian complexion. Underneath the hologram, though, Kurt was still the same "blue fuzzy elf".
Alexia handed him his backpack. "Here. I'm not going to carry it for you."
Kurt took the bag and shouldered it. Just enough clothes for two days, that's all he brought with him. That all Alexia said he would need.
A car horn beeped and a male voice called from their left, "Hey! You, girl with the rat nest for hair! You and your boyfriend need a lift?"
Alexia's head jerked in the direction of the voice, her face cracking into a huge ecstatic grin. "Zydane!" she cried and dashed to a black car parked at the end of the platform.
A tall young man got out of the car and was met by Alexia flinging herself at him. Kurt watched, slightly confused as Alexia embraced the man like there was no tomorrow. This was obviously Zydane. He definitely did not look the way Kurt had pictured him. He had thought Zydane would be handsome with broad shoulders and a sturdy build - the football player build. But instead, the guy was thin all over, and it almost looked like he could be blown away by the slightest breeze. And he wasn't handsome, not that Kurt could see.
The two were talking excitedly, interrupting each other, speaking in a pattern that made no sense to Kurt, but seemed perfectly normal to the two of them. They could have each been half of the same person, it seemed. He shifted his backpack on his shoulder and walked over, hoping that maybe they would remember him.
"Zydane, this is my friend, Kurt Wagner. I brought him up so that he can learn the ways of the world. Kurt, this is Zydane," Alexia said when Kurt reached them.
Zydane stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you Kurt. Alexia's told me all about you."
"She has? Vhat exactly has she told you?" Kurt asked, eying Zydane's hand rather uncomfortably.
"Everything. All about your...special qualities," Zydane replied, not fazed at all by Kurt's reluctance.
Kurt nodded, took Zydane's hand and gave it a firm shake. Zydane looked mildly surprised at the sensation of shaking a hand that really only had two fingers and a thumb and was slightly fuzzy.
"I hate to tell you both this," Zydane said, motioning for them to get in the car. "But I have to work today, so we can't go trailing till later this afternoon. But I'm sure Mr. Patterson won't mind you two hanging around the shop. And there's an arcade next door, so if you guys get really bored, you can go in there. Chester works there so you guys won't get turned into the police for skipping school," he added. Kurt figured Chester was one of their friends.
Kurt got into the back seat of the car, leaving the front to Alexia. She got in, and the first thing Zydane did was open the dashboard, revealing something that made Alexia squeal in delight.
"So THAT'S where it got to!" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me it was in here?"
Zydane grinned as he started up the car. "Because it's funny when you've lost something. You go ballistic, and you complain so much. It cracks me up every time."
Alexia threw Zydane a dirty look. Kurt found it amazing that the look barely fazed Zydane, but would have burned just about anyone at the Institute. In fact, it made Zydane laugh more.
"It's true! It's true!" Zydane laughed, as he pulled out of the bus station.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork sometimes. Oh well, I'm glad to have my camera back."
She turned suddenly in her seat, facing Kurt, a video camera up to her face.
"Say hi to the camera Kurt!" she laughed.
Kurt waved at the camera and gave a shy "Guten Tag."
Zydane grinned at Kurt in the rear view mirror. "Ok, now that that formality is out of the way, she's going to ask you to pour out a private confession of your feelings for her so she can." He was interrupted in mid sentence by Alexia punching him squarely in the shoulder. Zydane cried out in pain and grabbed at the spot where she had just punched, causing the car to swerve a little. He got the car back under control almost instantly, but continued to nurse his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Kurt asked, once the shock from the sudden swerve wore off.
"Com'n Zy," Alexia cried. "I didn't hit you that hard!"
Zydane nodded in response to Kurt's question. "I'll be fine, I just messed up my shoulder pretty good last night trailing with Luke. It's still pretty sensitive."
"Sorry," Alexia mumbled.
Zydane shrugged off her apology. "It's no big deal. I'll show you when we get to the shop."
Alexia nodded, then turned her head a little to talk to Kurt. "Zydane's the head mechanic at a garage up in Steter."
"I see," Kurt nodded. "Cars?"
Zydane shook his head. "Nah, I leave that to the professionals. I take care of stuff like dirt bikes and snowmobiles and four wheelers. You know, off road sports vehicles. Lawnmowers too."
"So you have to vork today? Vhat vill ve do, besides play at the arcade?"
Alexia laughed. "We're going to help him, Kurt. Mr. Patterson is really cool, he won't mind if we help out. I'll teach you how to use the cash register or change the oil in a wheeler or something."
"Alex, I don't need to be sued for letting you screw up someone's ATV," Zydane groaned as he pulled into a parking lot. The sign on the building next to it read "Patterson's Motor Sports Garage and Retail". There was a dirt bike parked next to the front door.
"Hey, you once said yourself I could do the quickest oil change in town!" Alexia cried, feigning insult.
Zydane chuckled as he turned off the car. "That's only because you have you big brother to do it for you." He got out of the car, and pulled his seat forward to let Kurt out.
"Nuh-uh!" Alexia replied. "He doesn't do it for me! He showed me once, and then I did it for myself!"
Zydane rolled his eyes and lowered his voice so only Kurt could hear. "She has her older brother do it for her." He grinned and motioned for Kurt to keep that information to himself.
Kurt smiled, agreeing to keep the secret. Alexia eyed them angrily from the other side of the car, then huffed into the shop.
"She's not very happy vith you," Kurt commented, watching Alexia's figure disappear into building.
"Ah, she'll be fine. She's not really mad at me. She just didn't wanna argue. I'm giving her a hard time, that's all, and she knows it. She's not really in the greatest mood...that'll have to stay like that though until we go trailing," Zydane explained as he pulled out a set of keys, and used them to unlock and open a box next to a large garage door, in which was a key pad. "I shouldn't give her such a hard time sometimes, though. She really is the fastest oil change in the area. Her doing that for me today will really save me a bunch of time." He punched in a code on the pad, and the garage door began to lift open.
"It is amazing," Kurt said as he followed Zydane under the still-opening door and into an area that looked like an auto garage, but for smaller vehicles. "Simply amazing how when Alexia gets like this at the Institute, everyone runs for cover, and yet you just brush it off like it's nothing."
Zydane sighed. "Alexia isn't a bad kid, and she doesn't get real upset very often. Lemme guess, you all avoid her in bad moods because you're scared she might blow you up, right?"
Kurt stopped and stared astonished at Zydane's back as the tall boy moved over to a time clock and punched in. Zydane had gone straight to the root of the problem, without tiptoeing around the topic. Kurt had known that Alexia had caused her father's death in a fit of rage, and though he knew it had been an accident, he was still frightened by the fact. The other students were scared of her as well, not scared like they had been of him when he had appeared, blue and demonic looking, at the Institute, but they feared Alexia more like a gun ready to go off.
Zydane glanced over at Kurt and seemed to be able to read all this off his face. "Don't leave Alexia alone like that when she gets upset. Really. It kills her. She calls me whenever she's in a bad mood, and though she doesn't say it outright, I can tell when she's upset because of something that happened at the Institute." He sighed and walked over to a four- wheeler and sat down beside it. "Sometimes I think she's right when she says I should come to the Institute - not for myself, but for her."
"She has been asking you to come to the Institute? How can you manage to refuse that girl anything?" Kurt cried.
Zydane grinned as he began to take a tire off the four-wheeler. "I've grown up with her, I know everything about her, even how best to resist her charms."
Kurt shook his head. "She vants you to come to the Institute for your sake? Vhy? Are you a..." He trailed off, hoping not to offend Zydane.
"A mutant? Yeah, actually," Zydane answered. "I can create shields around stuff, you know, like a force field."
"I see. Vhy don't you come to the Institute?"
"Not you too...Listen, I've told Alex this, and now it's your turn. I didn't go to college for a reason, I'm not into the whole higher education thing - I'm happy being a mechanic, it's what I've always wanted to do. Plus my power's not dangerous like hers, so I don't need to learn how to control it."
"Oh," Kurt answered, and he was silent, watching as Zydane began to fiddle with the metal part of the wheel.
"Why don't you go see what Alexia's up to Kurt?" Zydane said, not the least bit rude or sounding like he wanted to get rid of him. "There's not much you can do back here, and you'll get bored if you just watch me...I know, go bug Alexia about teaching you how to change the oil in these things." He motioned to a few lawnmowers lined up against the wall. "That'll give you both something to do."
"All right," Kurt agreed.
Kurt decided he liked Zydane. He was older than Kurt by a few years, but he had a personality similar to Alexia's, and he seemed to have a lot of patience. With some luck, perhaps he would be able to lift Alexia from the depression she had been suffering.
just to repeat the disclaimer---I don't own X-men, they belong to Marvel, etc. I do however own Alexia Tambor, Zydane Maylor, and any Ocs related to them.
*******
"Come on Kurt!" Alexia called up the bus stairs. "Zydane's probably waiting for us."
Kurt slowly stepped down off the bus. With his image inducer on, he looked like a normal teenager, with longish black hair and a Caucasian complexion. Underneath the hologram, though, Kurt was still the same "blue fuzzy elf".
Alexia handed him his backpack. "Here. I'm not going to carry it for you."
Kurt took the bag and shouldered it. Just enough clothes for two days, that's all he brought with him. That all Alexia said he would need.
A car horn beeped and a male voice called from their left, "Hey! You, girl with the rat nest for hair! You and your boyfriend need a lift?"
Alexia's head jerked in the direction of the voice, her face cracking into a huge ecstatic grin. "Zydane!" she cried and dashed to a black car parked at the end of the platform.
A tall young man got out of the car and was met by Alexia flinging herself at him. Kurt watched, slightly confused as Alexia embraced the man like there was no tomorrow. This was obviously Zydane. He definitely did not look the way Kurt had pictured him. He had thought Zydane would be handsome with broad shoulders and a sturdy build - the football player build. But instead, the guy was thin all over, and it almost looked like he could be blown away by the slightest breeze. And he wasn't handsome, not that Kurt could see.
The two were talking excitedly, interrupting each other, speaking in a pattern that made no sense to Kurt, but seemed perfectly normal to the two of them. They could have each been half of the same person, it seemed. He shifted his backpack on his shoulder and walked over, hoping that maybe they would remember him.
"Zydane, this is my friend, Kurt Wagner. I brought him up so that he can learn the ways of the world. Kurt, this is Zydane," Alexia said when Kurt reached them.
Zydane stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you Kurt. Alexia's told me all about you."
"She has? Vhat exactly has she told you?" Kurt asked, eying Zydane's hand rather uncomfortably.
"Everything. All about your...special qualities," Zydane replied, not fazed at all by Kurt's reluctance.
Kurt nodded, took Zydane's hand and gave it a firm shake. Zydane looked mildly surprised at the sensation of shaking a hand that really only had two fingers and a thumb and was slightly fuzzy.
"I hate to tell you both this," Zydane said, motioning for them to get in the car. "But I have to work today, so we can't go trailing till later this afternoon. But I'm sure Mr. Patterson won't mind you two hanging around the shop. And there's an arcade next door, so if you guys get really bored, you can go in there. Chester works there so you guys won't get turned into the police for skipping school," he added. Kurt figured Chester was one of their friends.
Kurt got into the back seat of the car, leaving the front to Alexia. She got in, and the first thing Zydane did was open the dashboard, revealing something that made Alexia squeal in delight.
"So THAT'S where it got to!" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me it was in here?"
Zydane grinned as he started up the car. "Because it's funny when you've lost something. You go ballistic, and you complain so much. It cracks me up every time."
Alexia threw Zydane a dirty look. Kurt found it amazing that the look barely fazed Zydane, but would have burned just about anyone at the Institute. In fact, it made Zydane laugh more.
"It's true! It's true!" Zydane laughed, as he pulled out of the bus station.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork sometimes. Oh well, I'm glad to have my camera back."
She turned suddenly in her seat, facing Kurt, a video camera up to her face.
"Say hi to the camera Kurt!" she laughed.
Kurt waved at the camera and gave a shy "Guten Tag."
Zydane grinned at Kurt in the rear view mirror. "Ok, now that that formality is out of the way, she's going to ask you to pour out a private confession of your feelings for her so she can." He was interrupted in mid sentence by Alexia punching him squarely in the shoulder. Zydane cried out in pain and grabbed at the spot where she had just punched, causing the car to swerve a little. He got the car back under control almost instantly, but continued to nurse his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Kurt asked, once the shock from the sudden swerve wore off.
"Com'n Zy," Alexia cried. "I didn't hit you that hard!"
Zydane nodded in response to Kurt's question. "I'll be fine, I just messed up my shoulder pretty good last night trailing with Luke. It's still pretty sensitive."
"Sorry," Alexia mumbled.
Zydane shrugged off her apology. "It's no big deal. I'll show you when we get to the shop."
Alexia nodded, then turned her head a little to talk to Kurt. "Zydane's the head mechanic at a garage up in Steter."
"I see," Kurt nodded. "Cars?"
Zydane shook his head. "Nah, I leave that to the professionals. I take care of stuff like dirt bikes and snowmobiles and four wheelers. You know, off road sports vehicles. Lawnmowers too."
"So you have to vork today? Vhat vill ve do, besides play at the arcade?"
Alexia laughed. "We're going to help him, Kurt. Mr. Patterson is really cool, he won't mind if we help out. I'll teach you how to use the cash register or change the oil in a wheeler or something."
"Alex, I don't need to be sued for letting you screw up someone's ATV," Zydane groaned as he pulled into a parking lot. The sign on the building next to it read "Patterson's Motor Sports Garage and Retail". There was a dirt bike parked next to the front door.
"Hey, you once said yourself I could do the quickest oil change in town!" Alexia cried, feigning insult.
Zydane chuckled as he turned off the car. "That's only because you have you big brother to do it for you." He got out of the car, and pulled his seat forward to let Kurt out.
"Nuh-uh!" Alexia replied. "He doesn't do it for me! He showed me once, and then I did it for myself!"
Zydane rolled his eyes and lowered his voice so only Kurt could hear. "She has her older brother do it for her." He grinned and motioned for Kurt to keep that information to himself.
Kurt smiled, agreeing to keep the secret. Alexia eyed them angrily from the other side of the car, then huffed into the shop.
"She's not very happy vith you," Kurt commented, watching Alexia's figure disappear into building.
"Ah, she'll be fine. She's not really mad at me. She just didn't wanna argue. I'm giving her a hard time, that's all, and she knows it. She's not really in the greatest mood...that'll have to stay like that though until we go trailing," Zydane explained as he pulled out a set of keys, and used them to unlock and open a box next to a large garage door, in which was a key pad. "I shouldn't give her such a hard time sometimes, though. She really is the fastest oil change in the area. Her doing that for me today will really save me a bunch of time." He punched in a code on the pad, and the garage door began to lift open.
"It is amazing," Kurt said as he followed Zydane under the still-opening door and into an area that looked like an auto garage, but for smaller vehicles. "Simply amazing how when Alexia gets like this at the Institute, everyone runs for cover, and yet you just brush it off like it's nothing."
Zydane sighed. "Alexia isn't a bad kid, and she doesn't get real upset very often. Lemme guess, you all avoid her in bad moods because you're scared she might blow you up, right?"
Kurt stopped and stared astonished at Zydane's back as the tall boy moved over to a time clock and punched in. Zydane had gone straight to the root of the problem, without tiptoeing around the topic. Kurt had known that Alexia had caused her father's death in a fit of rage, and though he knew it had been an accident, he was still frightened by the fact. The other students were scared of her as well, not scared like they had been of him when he had appeared, blue and demonic looking, at the Institute, but they feared Alexia more like a gun ready to go off.
Zydane glanced over at Kurt and seemed to be able to read all this off his face. "Don't leave Alexia alone like that when she gets upset. Really. It kills her. She calls me whenever she's in a bad mood, and though she doesn't say it outright, I can tell when she's upset because of something that happened at the Institute." He sighed and walked over to a four- wheeler and sat down beside it. "Sometimes I think she's right when she says I should come to the Institute - not for myself, but for her."
"She has been asking you to come to the Institute? How can you manage to refuse that girl anything?" Kurt cried.
Zydane grinned as he began to take a tire off the four-wheeler. "I've grown up with her, I know everything about her, even how best to resist her charms."
Kurt shook his head. "She vants you to come to the Institute for your sake? Vhy? Are you a..." He trailed off, hoping not to offend Zydane.
"A mutant? Yeah, actually," Zydane answered. "I can create shields around stuff, you know, like a force field."
"I see. Vhy don't you come to the Institute?"
"Not you too...Listen, I've told Alex this, and now it's your turn. I didn't go to college for a reason, I'm not into the whole higher education thing - I'm happy being a mechanic, it's what I've always wanted to do. Plus my power's not dangerous like hers, so I don't need to learn how to control it."
"Oh," Kurt answered, and he was silent, watching as Zydane began to fiddle with the metal part of the wheel.
"Why don't you go see what Alexia's up to Kurt?" Zydane said, not the least bit rude or sounding like he wanted to get rid of him. "There's not much you can do back here, and you'll get bored if you just watch me...I know, go bug Alexia about teaching you how to change the oil in these things." He motioned to a few lawnmowers lined up against the wall. "That'll give you both something to do."
"All right," Kurt agreed.
Kurt decided he liked Zydane. He was older than Kurt by a few years, but he had a personality similar to Alexia's, and he seemed to have a lot of patience. With some luck, perhaps he would be able to lift Alexia from the depression she had been suffering.