DISCLAIMER: Sorry, I don't any of the characters, so don't sue!
SUMMARY: Kurt and Ororo talk. Post-X2, spoilers. To my friend Telaka, who encouraged me to write this.
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Somewhere in the hall below, a clock chimed midnight. Ororo sighed, unnerved by the silence that seemed to have veiled the house, and feeling as if she was the only one awake.
She turned the corner, intent to heading to her own bedroom in the attic, when something caught her attention: a voice, muttering in some strange tongue. Kurt, she realised after a moment.
She hadn't seen him since the memorial service that afternoon. Her throat tightened at the memory.....
The Grays, huddling together as if to block out their grief. The children, some confused, some disbelieving, but most just crying and clinging to one another. Logan, standing at the back of the little group with is hands in his pockets, unable to meet anyone's eyes. Scott, kneeling before the rose bush planted in memory of his fiancee, a lone tear rolling down his cheek. Each one grieving differently, but all mourning the same woman.
Blinking back a tear of her own, she shivered. But instead of taking the stairs to the attic, she turned back, and knocked lightly on a door.
"Kurt?" No answer. She hesitated, before trying again, this time louder -- but still nothing. Involuntarily, her hand clasped the handle turning it slowly before pushing the door, and peering into the room.
Candles glittered in the darkness, shadows dancing across her face. Kneeling on the floor, head bowed and one hand clasped around his rosary beads, was Kurt.
He turned, the flames highlighting every angelic symbol on his face. "Ororo," he said, still stumbling over the syllables of her name. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Kurt," she replied. "I was wondering if I could come in and talk?"
He smiled. "My door is always open for a friend."
Nodding, she slipped into the room, closing the door with a gentle click.
For a moment, she gazed around the room, feeling unnerved by the sad eyes of the woman whose painting hung on the wall. She seemed to smile softly at Ororo, and that made her shiver.
"Ororo?" Kurt's voice drew her from her thoughts. He sat down on the bed, and motioned for her to do the same. "Something is bothering you. There is no need for one so beautiful to suffer as you do. Please, tell me what is wrong..."
She shrugged, folding her arms across her chest as she sat. "Do you really believe in life after death?"
"Ah," he replied, understanding. Of late, she had asked him many questions: about his belief, about prayers, about his faith. "Jean was a good person. Although I knew her only for a short time, I could sense a goodness in her. She cared much for others, enough to give all of herself so that we might live." His eyes clouded. "I only wish I could have done something."
Ororo placed her hand over his. "Kurt, that wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything!"
"Perhaps we all could have done something a little bit different. Perhaps we could have saved her. But she made her choice -- and that choice to save the people she loved. For that, she is up there, among the highest of angels." He pointed to stars above.
"But can we ever be sure?" She asked. "How can we be sure that somewhere she is watching down on us?"
"Faith," he answered simply. "Sometimes faith is all you need." He clasped her hand. "Perhaps there is nothing awaiting us after death. Perhaps we will simply fade away. But if we believe that heaven and the Holy Father do exist, then we learn not to fear death."
With a soft sigh, Ororo's eyes drifted back to the painting on the wall. Kurt smiled as he saw her looking at the it.
"An ikon," he explained. "Of the Holy Mother. She watches over us all, even in the hour of our death. She will always be there to comfort her children in times of sorrow."
Her eyes slipped shut as she thought of her own mother; but all she saw was the darkness of the pit; the darkness of death. She could almost feel her mother's hand go limp in her grasp as the life slipped away.
Suddenly, she herself was gasping for breath. Once again, she was that helpless little girl trapped in the dark, still clinging to her mother's dead body, calling out for someone, anyone, to save her. But it was useless. Her family was dead, and she was going to die...
"Ororo!"
Blinking her eyes open, she found herself in Kurt's arms, sobbing against his chest. "Shh..." He whispered, stroking her hair with one hand, and tracing soothing circles on her back with the other. Both their bodies trembled with her violent sobs. Even held secure in his embrace, she still felt trapped in the blackness that had consumed her family.
Kurt gazed at the woman in his arms, feeling the same prickle in his own eyes at seeing her in this state. Ororo's hand instictively clutched his shirt, tears soaking through the fabric. At this moment, she knew no embarrassment or shame at her tears, only the need to purge herself of this grief.
The sobs faded to whimpers, and the whimpers to silence. All the tension drained from her muscles and she rested her head on his shoulder, tears soaking through his shirt. How long they sat together neither knew, nor even cared.
Eventually, she pulled herself from his arms, and hurriedly brushed a hand across her tear-streaked cheeks. She gulped greedily for air as her head rested on her knees, abashed at allowing Kurt to see her cry. The two sat in silence for several moments, an unspoken acquiescence passing between them. What had happened this evening would never leave this room. Whatever had elicited this surge of emotion in Ororo was clearly private, and he would not broach the matter until she was ready.
With a sigh, Ororo rose, and placed a kiss on his brow. "Thank you, Kurt."
A faint tinge appeared on his blue cheeks. "You are welcome anytime, Ororo." They exchanged a smile before she turned towards the door. "Good night, Ororo."
"Good night, Kurt," she replied, before slipping back into the hall.
As she closed the door, Kurt bowed his head, and began to finger the rosary beads once more. He whispered a Hail Mary for Ororo, and prayed that she would find the faith she needed to overcome the fears in her heart.