Patience is a virtue you know? I'm sorry that it took so long though. Anyway, without further ado, here is the next chapter. Enjoy:D
Chapter Six
Less than an hour later found Remy and Kurt sitting in Professor Xavier's office once again, only this time, they were joined by a blue and furry doctor.
Hank looked Kurt over when he stepped into the office and noticed the now small bump on his forehead but otherwise could see nothing physically wrong with the boy that would indicate why his presence was needed. Kurt looked nervous, though, his eyes darting around the office, ready to bolt. It was obvious that he had to restrain himself from leaning back into Gambit who had entered behind him; his tail had wound itself around one of Gambit's legs, though whether this was unconscious on Kurt's part or not, Hank couldn't tell.
Gambit hovered over Kurt protectively and Hank wondered how the two had formed such a fast and obviously strong bond. Gambit slipped an arm around Kurt's shoulders and Hank had to conceal his surprise at the intimacy of that gesture. Perhaps there was more going on between these two than he had originally thought.
They settled on the small couch that ran along one wall of the office, Kurt's tail not releasing its grip on Gambit's leg and Gambit still holding Kurt protectively. Hank couldn't help but smile at how, well, cute they looked like that. Whatever had happened to Kurt - and he was getting the unsettling feeling that it was something far worse than he could have imagined - he was now glad that Gambit had been there to help him. With that thought in mind he turned to the pair and suggested that Gambit stay with them and join as an X-Man. Gambit chuckled at him.
"Actually I've already decided t' stay. Spoke wit' de Professor about it earlier."
"Ah, excellent. I hope that you will get along well here with all the other students." Gambit nodded at him but looked doubtful. Hank knew that some of the other students here, Scott especially, would have a hard time accepting him since he used to work for Magneto. But they would all come around once they realized that Gambit meant no harm, and Hank was sure that he didn't, if the obvious worry over Kurt was any indicator.
The Professor cleared his throat and they turned their attention to him. "Are we ready to proceed then?" The question was mostly directed at Kurt and he gave a hesitant nod. The Professor positioned his hover chair so that he was in front of Kurt and Gambit. He took hold of one of Kurt's hands, wanting to make the telepathic contact as easy as possible. "Gambit, you will need to lower the shields." Gambit looked at him warily before nodding his ascent and lowering the shields that he had put around Kurt's mind to keep him hidden when he hadn't wanted to be found.
"Are you sure about this Kurt?" Xavier asked, wanting to make sure that he had Kurt's explicit permission before reading his mind. "I will not look at anything else; just try to concentrate on what happened." Not realizing how hard it was for Kurt to actually, purposefully, think back on what had happened, the professor waited for Kurt to nod his head before continuing.
Xavier first linked himself with Hank and then linked the both of them to Kurt's mind. A moment later and both Hank and Charles stood in the black plane that was Kurt's mind in their astral forms. The occasional image or memory would flicker but they were not the ones that Xavier wanted to see and so were ignored. Xavier waited a moment, hoping that Kurt would join them but there was no sign.
"Where is Kurt?" Beast asked in confusion, watching one memory as it played out seemingly in the distance.
"I believe that he is too afraid to join us." Xavier sounded upset. What could possibly have upset Kurt so badly that he would be this afraid of it? He was about to find out as a new scene played out in front of them. They watched in horror as the men got hold of Kurt and the rape unfolded before them. They could feel the pain, fear and humiliation that came from Kurt's mind as he relived this traumatic experience, the feelings seeming to crash through them like waves in their intensity. The scene came to an end with Remy finding Kurt and a soft voice echoed through the blackness as the memory faded from view.
"Please, stop…" Kurt pleaded them.
"Of course, Kurt," Xavier said quietly. Hank shared a glance with him, neither of them quite able to come to grips with what they had just seen. The usually calm and gentle Hank wanted nothing more than to live up to his code name of Beast right then and destroy those that had dared to hurt Kurt in this way, but he kept his rage back not wanting to inadvertently hurt Kurt with it.
Hank felt the slightly dizzy feeling that came with his being suddenly back in his own mind and opened his eyes to gaze at Kurt. Great wracking sobs shook Kurt's body as he buried his face into Gambit's chest. Gambit held him tightly, glaring at the Professor even though he knew that the Professor was not to blame. He needed to lash out at something and the Professor was the closest thing that he could aim his anger at.
Hank put a calming hand on the young man's shoulder as he could see that an argument was most likely about to start between Gambit and the Professor. Gambit turned briefly to glare at Hank before turning his attention back to Kurt, deciding to ignore the others and whisper comforts into his ear. It took a few minutes but Kurt was finally calm enough to look up at them though shame colored his eyes and the occasional tear still wound its way down his face.
"Kurt, you do know that none of this is your fault?" the Professor questioned calmly. Kurt turned his head back into Remy so that when he spoke his voice was muffled.
"Can I go back to my room now?" Kurt asked instead of answering.
"Cher, y' have t' let Hank test y' 'member?" Remy questioned, tilting Kurt's head up so that he could look in Kurt's eyes. Kurt turned his gaze to Hank and looked at him pleadingly. Hank shook his head softly.
"I'm sorry Kurt, but Gambit is right. We should not put this off. It will only take a few moments. All I need is some blood and then you may go back to your room if you wish."
Kurt swallowed and nodded. He stood, finally unwinding his tail from Remy's leg. Remy stood behind them and they followed Hank out the door, Remy with a slight hobble to his step. At Hank's questioning look, he smiled and shrugged.
"My legs asleep." Kurt looked up at him in surprise as Hank just smiled and nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Kurt began but Remy cut him off.
"Y' worry too much, cher, 's'okay."
They walked silently out of the office, Hank leading the way, Xavier bringing up the rear, and made their way towards the med lab passing a shocked Iceman on the way. The blood was taken without a fuss and they were told that it would be at least three days before they had the results back. Hank would call them the minute he knew.
"Remy," Xavier said as they headed back for the upper levels of the mansion. "I would like to speak with you in my office."
Remy stopped and faced Kurt. "Y' gonna be okay, cher?"
Kurt nodded. "I just want to go to my room and sleep for awhile." He offered a shaky smile. The day's events had left him emotionally drained and he wanted nothing more than to collapse into oblivion for a few hours. Remy released his grip around Kurt's shoulders and stepped back so that Kurt could teleport away to his room. Once he was gone Remy turned back to the Professor.
"Let's go den."
#
"What did y' want t' talk about?" Gambit asked once they were back in the Professor's office.
"Your empathic link with Kurt," the Professor put bluntly. He had sensed the link when he had been in Kurt's mind.
"What about it?" Gambit said slightly defensively.
"You cannot use it to shut Kurt away from his own feelings." Gambit was about to object but the Professor raised a hand to stop him. "You have been using your own positive feelings to counteract Kurt's negative ones, yes?"
Remy nodded hesitantly, unsure of where this was going. "Oui…"
"I know that you are just trying to help him but he cannot ignore or push those feelings away or he will never truly recover from this. He must work through what he is feeling but to do that, you have to let him."
"I don' want t' see him hurting."
"None of us do, but you can not deny Kurt his own feelings or push them back, they will simply continue to build up which would result in an emotional breakdown. If you want him to heal then you must let him work through this. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be there to help him, it will be very hard on him, but what it comes down to is that you are manipulating his negative emotions and in the long run that can do him no good."
"I'm not manipulatin' him."
"Perhaps that was a bad choice of words," the Professor conceded. "But you are…covering his negative emotions with your own positive ones. Do you understand?"
"Oui, stop coddling Kurt 'cause he needs t' deal wit' it eventually."
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't be there to help him through it mind you, or that you should break the link, just do not stop him from feeling, even if what he is feeling is not something you'd want him to.. It is wrong to take away another person's emotions…"
"I understand. Its jus'…hard t' see him hurting, so afraid…" he trailed off.
"We will find a way to deal with it." Xavier smiled at him and there was silence for a moment. "We need to discuss sleeping arrangements for you," Xavier said thoughtfully. He could easily tell Remy's thoughts without having to read his mind and smiled. "While I would normally allow you to stay in a room with Kurt, since the two of you are… romantically involved, I will not be doing so." Gambit rolled his eyes but said nothing, waiting for Xavier to continue. "Other than Kurt's, I'm afraid that the only room available is Scott's."
Remy looked at him skeptically. "Are y' sure 'bout dat? Don' t'ink de homme be t' fond of me, neh?"
"I'm sure that the two of you will learn to get along fine." Remy did not look so sure…
#
Kurt had not been in his room as Remy had expected and he didn't think that Kurt would go wandering the mansion, especially after the session with the Professor and Hank. So, he decided that he may as well wander the mansion again, after all, it had worked the last time he wanted to find Kurt.
It didn't take him long to walk by the bathrooms and, upon hearing the shower going, thought that Kurt might be the one using it. It would most likely be disaster though if he was wrong and walked in on Rogue or something, so knocking first would be a good thing. He raised his fist and rapped lightly on the door.
"Kurt? Dat y'?" There was no answer save for a pulse of sudden recognition through the link. Remy did not need a verbal answer after that. "C'n I come in?" A vague sense of relief was his answer and Remy made quick and easy work of the lock, stepping into the bathroom.
Kurt looked up at him from the floor of the shower stall, eyes glistening with tears, soapy towel in hand. "I can not get the dirt off," he whispered, the tears spilling down his cheeks.
"Oh cher…" he let the sentence trail off as he kneeled next to the now sobbing Kurt and gathered him once more in his arms. He wanted to take away the emotions that were hurting Kurt but was mindful of the Professor's advice as he could see the sense in it. So he tried to calm Kurt as much as he could, letting him know that he was here, that he wasn't going anywhere.
Kurt sobbed into Remy's chest, feeling so ashamed that he was breaking down yet again in front of this man but unable to help himself. Showing the Professor had seemed to bring everything back to the front of his mind, not that it hadn't been there all along but he had been able to push it away. So he let Remy hold him, the water from the shower soaking the both of them.
It wasn't until the water began to grow cold that Remy leaned over and turned the shower off. He couldn't help the shiver when the cold air from the bathroom hit him.
"Let's get out of here, 'ey?" Kurt nodded and they were gone in a cloud of smoke reappearing in Kurt's room. Remy looked at Kurt's dripping form, wishing he had thought to grab a towel, and brushed back some of the wet hair from Kurt's face. Once Kurt was looking back at him, he smiled slightly. "Y' okay now?"
Kurt looked back down. "Yeah, I guess, it's just… with the Professor… it brought everything back… Gott, when is this going to end?" Kurt looked up at Remy with big, pleading eyes. Remy gathered him in his arms once again.
"I dunno, cher," he whispered. "Don't t'ink it ever really ends, mais it will get better." He stood, hauling Kurt up as well. "Now, we are all wet, someone needs t' go an' get some towels," Remy hinted, looking pointedly at Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes but teleported to the bathroom and back, towels in hand.
"I'm beginning to think that I'm nothing but your errand boy," Kurt said teasingly. Remy grinned at him. Kurt was just pulling a t-shirt on over his head when he heard Remy clear his throat from behind him. Kurt turned to him.
"I left my bag by de doors downstairs, was t'inking dat y' could-" He stopped as Kurt, once again rolling his eyes, disappeared only to reappear a moment later, handing the bag over to Remy. "T'anks cher."
"No problem. I'll be right back though, I gotta get my stuff out of the bathroom." Remy nodded and as soon a Kurt was gone he quickly stripped and changed into some dry clothes. Remy figured that seeing a naked man standing in front of him at this point could only make Kurt uncomfortable, even if he pretended that nothing was the matter. He was surprised that Kurt allowed him as much freedom with touch as he did. Before he could continue along that track of thought Kurt was back, looking much better with dry fur, combed hair and clear eyes, even if they were a bit puffy from the crying.
"So did the Professor say where you would be sleeping?" Kurt asked, letting the clothes in his arms fall to the floor in a messy pile.
Remy had to restrain a groan as his thoughts were brought to this rather unpleasant topic. He sighed though and answered Kurt. "Oui, do y' know where Scott's room is?"
Kurt looked at him in slightly amused shock before breaking into a smile. "You and Scott? Just remember that killing is bad."
Remy sighed and looked disappointed. "What if he were t' 'accidentally' fall out de window?" Kurt just gave him a look and Remy rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I don' t'ink dat we'll be getting' along t' good."
"You could always stay here," Kurt offered rather nervously. His doubts were beginning to come back again. What if Remy didn't want to stay here with him? Maybe Remy had finally come to his senses and realized just how worthless he was. But, of course, he was with an empath and Remy sensed his fears.
"Stop dat," Gambit said, glaring at Kurt but with no voltage to the look. "I want t' stay here wit' y', cher but de Professor said dat since we are 'romantically involved' dat we can' share a room." He snorted in disgust. Just what did the Professor think was going to happen anyway?
"Oh, well, I'll show you where Scott's room is then…" Kurt began to lead the way out of the room and though he tried to ignore it couldn't stop the swell of fear that came with knowing that he would be alone tonight. He pushed it aside though, the mansion was the safest place that he could possibly be, and nothing would be able to hurt him here. Besides he was a big boy now, surely he could deal with sleeping alone.
#
Scott paced his room angrily, waiting for his new roommate to show up. He couldn't believe that the Professor would do this to him! He did not want to have to share a room with an Acolyte, even a, supposedly, converted one. On the other hand, the only other room available was Kurt's and Scott did not trust Gambit one bit where Kurt was concerned. In Scott's eyes the less he was around Kurt, the better.
Something had scared Kurt, terrified him even. Although Scott was sure that the others hadn't noticed, Scott had seen the way that Kurt had flinched, ever so slightly, when someone reached for him. He had seen the masked fear in those yellow eyes.
Scott didn't know what had happened but he was sure that it had something to do with Gambit and he was determined to find out. Talking to Kurt wouldn't work, Gambit had probably threatened him, and so Scott would go right to the source and demand that Gambit tell him what was going on. At least that would be easier if they shared a room.
He turned his head when the door opened and Gambit walked into the room, dressed for sleep and obviously just coming from the shower. He had already moved the few things he had into the room a bit earlier. Gambit scanned the room for a moment, ignoring Scott, before walking across to the obviously unoccupied bed. Not halfway there Scott grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him.
"Gambit, I want-" Scott started, only to be cut off as Gambit smacked his hand away and turned on him.
"I don' care what y' want Cyclops, I ain't in de mood." Gambit turned and continued on his way to the bed. He was tired and angry, wanting nothing more than a fight but knowing that to fight here could get him kicked out.
"Tell me what happened to Kurt! What did you do to him?" Scott demanded. He would not back down on this one. He wanted to help Kurt but he couldn't do that if he didn't even know what was going on.
Gambit turned back to him and almost snarled his reply. "Christ Scott! I didn' do anyt'ing t' him, I wouldn't do anyt'ing t' him so just back off! If he wanted t' tell y' he would have!"
Scott stared at Gambit has he made to the bed and let himself collapse across it, surprised by the anger tinged with hurt that backed those words. Maybe the Professor would know something and he resolved to ask about it tomorrow. Tonight he was tired and maybe sleep would help to clear his mind. #
Remy tossed uneasily as something seemed to fight for his attention and bring him back to wakefulness. Blinking up at the dark ceiling for a moment he tried to figure out what had woken him. He looked across at the alarm clock, discovering that it was only a little after one and, groaning slightly at the hour, let his eyes slip closed again. He could feel himself drifting off when it hit him again, a wave of fear, pain and anger that caused him to jerk upright with a weak cry and grasp his head in some inane effort to stop it.
"Kurt…" He leapt out of the bed and ran towards the door, ignoring a shocked Cyclops who had woken at his cry. He knew that he should have argued with the Professor about allowing Kurt to be alone, he had known that this could happen but had figured that it wasn't worth making a scene over. Now though he wished that he had.
"Hey, wait! Gambit!" Cyclops said as he bolted out of the room. He didn't bother to stop though and was unsurprised when he heard the sound of Cyclops following him. When he reached Kurt's door Xavier and Jean were also there. He stopped and looked at them in confusion and Jean answered nearly crying.
"He's broadcasting," she explained. She looked up briefly at Scott who had come up behind Remy, then back to the Professor. "God, Professor did you know-" Xavier put a hand up to stop her.
"Yes, Jean and he did not want anyone else knowing so I'd appreciate, as I'm sure Kurt would, you keeping this to yourself." She nodded, wiping away tears. "Now, I think that it is time you and Scott were going back to bed."
"But-" Scott began.
"Now, Scott," the Professor ordered. Scott's shoulders dropped but he turned away. Jean left as well, knowing that she would be getting no sleep tonight. The Professor turned back to Remy only to find that he had slipped into Kurt's room and was now holding and whispering to the young mutant. He tapped lightly on Remy's mental shields hoping that Remy would let him in. Remy turned his head towards the Professor, said something to Kurt that was too low for Xavier to hear and then walked over the door shutting it behind him.
"What do y' want?" he asked Xavier shortly, obviously wanting to get back to Kurt.
"Are you planning on spending the night with Kurt?" Remy rolled his eyes angrily. "What de hell do y' t'ink we're gonna do? Jump each ot'er? He was just raped for God's sakes! We're not-"
"That's not what I was going to say," Xavier interrupted. "I was going to say that perhaps I was wrong earlier." Remy looked at him in surprise. "You two can share a room; Kurt trusts you and you will be able to help him better with his nightmares than anyone else could."
"Merci, Professor," Remy said with a genuine smile, turning to head back into Kurt's room. Xavier smiled as well, as Remy disappeared into the room.
A/N: Next chapter will have more of the other x-men and what they think and stuff in it. And more interaction between them and Remy and Kurt. Anyway, there ya go, a nice (sorta) long chapter to make up for the wait (hopefully).