*Sigh* I'm a bit depressed today, for today I had to bury another mouse. 'Twas my last one too. *Sniff* I am no longer a proud owner of mice. Nope. Oh well. *Blink*
Hey look! I got TWO reviews for my last chapter!! Two!! I'm so happy! No, wait, I'm depressed…happy!…nope, depressed again. Verdammt!
MetaChi, I think that if you ever stopped reviewing this…I'd die. Yep. I'd keel over on the spot and cease to live. So I don't care if it was only you reviewing, because you are a very important…you. Yeah. Hmmm…maybe I should…I live Dracula! Though I've never actually finished reading the book…Isn't Reno great? Ah, the capabilities of Irken tech, no?
MOTA: Thank you for reviewing! You have given me hope, and I won't stop just because no one other than MetaChi's reviewing. Once again, thank you!!!
Oh, just so you all know, Chapter 18's in the works!
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Janella was singing. Not loudly, or exuberantly, just softly under her breath, singing along with her CD player; if he was any judge, it was more for lack of things to do than anything else. A normal person would not be able to hear it, but hey, those pointed ears were not just for earning him nicknames.
He was newly returned from a junk food gathering expedition with Bobby, Jubilee, and Evan, and had picked up a little gift for her while he was out. He paused outside the door; head cocked, and listened to what she was murmuring.
"Just as the clouds have gone to sleep/ Angels can be seen in Heaven's keep."
"Alone in fear zey question vhy/ Goddamn not an angel vhen I die," Kurt supplied, pushing open the door. The expression of surprise on her face at seeing him stopped him for a moment. "Vhat? Is zere something in my teeth?" She blushed and giggled.
"No, Kurt," she said. "Just didn't…" She trailed off.
"Didn't vhat?" he prompted.
"I didn't really expect to see you back here." It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about; when the realization hit him he began to laugh so hard he had to sit down on the end of the bed to keep from falling over.
"What?" she asked, utterly bewildered.
"Do you actually think zat ze whole 'family' zing vould change ze vay zings are between us?" he asked, genuinely shocked. She shrugged slightly and nodded.
"Well, yeah. That's what usually happens," she said quietly.
"You've told before?"
"Twice. Once when we lived in Cali, California, I mean, and once in Florida. Guess why we moved…" She sighed and sat back against her pillows, eyes glistening suspiciously.
"Wow…" He wasn't a telepath like the Professor or Jean, but he could still get the feeling that maybe her family blamed her for that. Belatedly, he remembered his gift, and held it out to her. "I brought you something." She looked up, eyes brightening and whole demeanor changing.
"Chocolate! Hershey's chocolate!" she accepted it gratefully. "Man, you don't know how bad I've been craving this stuff." She glanced up. "Or maybe you do…" He shrugged.
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he said with a cryptic laugh. Her expression turned thoughtful.
"Hmm. You don't know how badly I've been craving a Smoked Ham and Swiss sandwich from Panera…" He shook an admonishing finger at her.
"Hey now, didn't zose stepmothers of yours teach you not to take advantage of kind people?" he asked with mock severity. She affected an aura of innocence.
"Gee, Kurt, no," she said in a high-pitched voice. "They taught me the exact opposite!" She grinned devilishly, the look enhanced by the fangs she still sported. He stared at her for a moment, and the two of them promptly broke down into peals of laughter. They made so much noise that they attracted the interest of a passing Logan. He peered into the room.
"Short stack? Elf? What's so funny in here?" he asked in his gravelly voice. Janella was still too stricken in the throes of her laughing fit to respond, but after a few deep breaths Kurt turned to face the older man.
"Ve're sorry, Herr Logan," he said, voice quavery with laughter. He pointed over his shoulder at the bed-ridden Janella. "It vas something she said." This caused Janella to redouble her laughter, even though it really wasn't that funny. Logan quirked an eyebrow, shrugged, and walked on. As Kurt turned back to his friend, she sat up and dashed the laughter tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just haven't had a good laugh in a while."
"Vell, zey say zat laughter is ze best medicine," Kurt acknowledged.
"You'd make a good doctor, then," she informed him, opening the bag of Hershey's Nuggets and unwrapping one. She offered him the bag and he accepted. She sighed.
"Something wrong?" he asked, worried.
"Nothing serious," she said. "I'm just going stir-crazy in here is all. I'm hard enough to keep entertained when I'm healthy!" She laughed ruefully. "I've never broken a bone before, so this whole 'enforced inactivity' thing is new to me."
"Hmm…" he glanced around the room furtively. "How long ago was your last dose of painkillers?" he asked. She chuckled.
"You mean you couldn't tell?" she asked. He smiled.
"Okay, so about two hours ago," he said. "And zey're still vorking, zat much I can tell. How strong are zose splints?" She tapped at the collection of wires, strips of wood, and bandages that held her wing immobile.
"Pretty strong, I guess," she said. "Why?"
"I'll be right back," he said abruptly, disappearing in his trademark puff of smoke. Before the stuff even dissipated fully, he was back. "Vanna go on a little trip?"
"You…mean…?" she said slowly. He nodded and seized her hand, pulling her into a half-sitting position. She had time to get her legs partially underneath her before they were gone.
He took her to a clearing in the trees rimming the Institute. He immediately grabbed her other arm and supported her as she sank gratefully to the grass. She yanked him down beside her and cast her arms about his neck.
"Oh, Kurt, thank you!" she cried. He uncomfortably wriggled out of her grasp.
"You're velcome, Janella, but it vasn't zat big of a deal," he said, smiling sheepishly.
"It is to me," she said, much more sedately, lying back on the grass. "Ah, natural sunlight. I feared I would turn into a pale ghost in there!"
He sat up. "Now you're just being melodramatic." She chuckled and reached over, taking his hand in her own, squeezed it.
"This means more to me than you might know," Janella said, quite serious. There was an odd catch to her voice, and unexpectedly, her touch sent an electric thrill up his arm. He reached over and covered her hand with his free one.
"I'm glad it made you so happy," he said with a genuine smile.
Unknown to him, his touch sent the same electrical thrills through her, and had been doing it for several days. She hadn't believed in love at first sight until her first sight of him, the real him. Of course, it was not very strong love at first, more of an undeniable attraction, but as the days passed and she got to know him better, she could not deny the feelings growing inside her. She sighed gustily. She did not want to rush or force anything, nor did she want to let him know how she felt. She looked up between the tree limbs at the sky.
"That cloud looks like a bunny," she commented. He gave her an odd look, before looking up at the sky.
"Oh vow, you're right," he said. "It is a bunny!" She giggled, but it was a different sound than usual, conveying a lot of emotion. They continued to point out shapes in the clouds for a while, and eventually lapsed into silence, a pleasantly warm breeze gusting along the ground around them. Kurt found himself dozing off, and turned to Janella. She was fast asleep, still hand in hand with him. At some point during their cloud watching, they had moved closer together so that their shoulders and thighs were touching. Kurt felt some very unfamiliar emotions sweep through him.
She looked so innocent asleep, and he was loathe to wake her, but he was sure that someone would be looking for either him or her soon, and he got the feeling that those in charge of Janella's recuperation would not appreciate their little trip. He gently shook the girl's shoulder. Her brow wrinkled and she squirmed away.
"Don' wanna go to school, ZaiFae," she murmured. He laughed.
"You don't have to vorry about zat," he said. She stirred, and sat up halfway, pulling her hand from his as she did so. He was almost sad to let it go.
"Hmm? Whoa…how'd we get out here?" she asked.
"I brought us out, remember?" She chuckled.
"Oh yeah…did I fall asleep?" He nodded. "Oops…so I suppose we should be going inside then, huh?" He got to his feet, smiling ruefully
"Unfortunately," he said, offering her his hand. She accepted it, and he pulled her to her feet, taking them back to her room.
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Aww, we got a little romance going on here, no?
Kurt and Mythos: NO!
Hey, you muses are the ones who helped write this chapter, thank you! Hmph. Weirdoes. Ooh! Guess what? The convenience store down the road from my Dad's house got the 'Mutants Rising' DVD!!! Now I can go rent it whenever I wanna watch Evo. Woo!
Disclaimer: Disclaim! Disclaim! Disclaim! ((In other words, I own very little…but this Kurt figure is still mine!! Woohoo!))