Cipher's Elegy

By Cypher

Chapter Five: Sunday Events

Dear mom and dad. I know it's been a while since I emailed you, but a lot has happened since the last time I talked, er, typed with you. I've finally found the perfect place to type. After the last time with Mr. Logan and the whole Canada fiasco, I'm avoiding the hangar and jet. If you want the specifics, well, I'll have to ask the Professor before I can tell you. But let's just say I learned a valuable lesson, and grew a little closer to Mr. Logan.

Any who, I'm in one of the subbasements. Kurt, you remember him? Well, he likes to wander around, and he like, found all these unused rooms. He's claimed a couple of them, made them cozy for him, but most of them are empty. I think they're for when we get more mutants.

Speaking of new mutants, all the ones I mentioned before are fine. Bobby, the jokester, is at war with Kurt right now. For a couple of days anyway. I know they'll team up again. They always do. Jamie, the youngest one here, is still having troubles fitting in, but Kurt's spending time with him.

There's one more new mutant. He came a few days ago. Douglas Ramsey. His code name is Cipher, because his power is, well, he can decipher languages and such. He can do more with it, but it's kinda hard to explain. He's a blond, and looks a bit innocent, but he's a lot more complex than any of us expected. Especially me.

Okay, I admit it, I fell for him, but he's like, such a babe. Not in the way Scott is. He's kinda got, well, he's cute and shy, but he's also really intelligent, and he works out enough that he's in pretty good shape. What really got me was his face, though. Like I said, innocent, but his eyes shine like, like, well, they have a brilliant shine. You can really get sucked into them.

I did mention he's shy, right? I asked him out and he nearly fainted then and there. I must be his first girlfriend. Still, he handled it pretty well. No, he is handling it pretty well. I think he's a keeper. Really, I do. He's sweet, and kind and gentle, and unlike most guys, he's honest. Tactlessly sometimes.

Like when we were eating lunch, he brought up the subject of religion. Well, actually, I was talking about my family and mentioned we were Jewish. I know I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm dating an atheist. A smart one. I didn't really understand his explanation, but I got the idea. See, he thinks a Godlike creature set off the Big Bang, then left. And eventually someone will evolve into the same being (like a super mutant) and repeat the cycle.

Of course, he was a lot more through. He told me later that the sources he used ranged from theological analysis to philosophical essays. He was only ten mom. Ten. He really is a genius, and not just because of his powers. And I know I was the first one to ever actually listen to what he was saying. He was so...thankful. I kinda know how he feels. Those of us who are smart tend to be ignored when we're explaining things.

And don't worry, he's not trying to convert me. In fact, he offered to help me research Judaism and understand my faith even more. He respects others' beliefs, and just wants his to be respected in return. I get the feeling they haven't been in the past. Well, I'm gonna change that. I'm gonna help him get his self-esteem up and dig him out of his shy shell, too. I mean, he gets flustered around every girl, even me.

It's probably too soon to tell if this will work out for good, but I really, really like him. And even if it doesn't, I hope we can still be friends. I think we would be. He's not one to hold a grudge. At least, I haven't seen that. I mean, how can someone who cries at a movie be unforgiving?

Kitty paused in her typing. It was Sunday morning and school was due to begin tomorrow, but she wanted to tell her parents about her new interest before they became obsessed with learning about how she was doing at school. She hadn't seen Douglas since the Danger Room session the night before. He was exhausted, and Kitty could understand why.

"Douglas duck!"

"Cipher! Look out!"

"Incoming, Ciph!"

"Jump already!"

"Come on, blonde, let's you and me waltz."

Kitty winced at the memory. Those were just the things she had heard. By the end, Kurt, who looked just as tired, used what must've been the last of his energy to teleport them both to their room. I wouldn't be surprised if they both slept till noon. The fact that the infamous morning antics of Kurt Wagner had failed to occur backed up that thought, though in all fairness, she was the first person up, next to Ororo. Speaking of which, I promised I'd help her with brunch. Kitty started typing again.

Well, I've got to sign off for now. I've got some last minute chores to deal with, and I want to check on Douglas. Since his power isn't really useful in a fight, he has to work twice as hard as the rest of us, and after the workout Mr. Logan gave us last night, I wanna make sure he's okay. Talk with you later.

Kitty sent the e-mail and closed her laptop. Now, which is the fastest way to get to the kitchen...

~*()*~

Douglas groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. Someone, or something, was nudging him, and if they weren't careful, they were going to wake him up. And you do not want to face a tired Ramsey. Crankiness runs in the family.

"Come on, dude. It's nearly ten. Wakey wakey." Kurt poked Douglas in the ribs again. "Come on." In truth, Kurt wanted to talk with Douglas about who Kitty was dating. He had seen Scott drop the two of them off, but missed seeing them come in as he had to go to the Danger Room. He must've at least gotten a look at the guy.

A small part of his mind reasoned that Douglas could be the guy. Kurt tried his best to ignore it.

A growl, and something rather unsavory, worked its way from the lips of his roommate.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Considering my mother's Mystique, that's not all that bad an insult."

The growl--Yes, it's definitely a growl--grew louder, more threatening.

"Come on, Douglas. Brunch is waiting, and Ororo made you your favorite mocha."

That got a reaction. Douglas lifted his arm and squinted at the blue, undefined shape before him. "Mocha?" Douglas' quirks were already beginning to spread around the Institute. The first was his 'thinking face,' whenever Douglas seemed to get a glazed look in the middle of a conversation. The second was his affinity for books. No one seemed to mind, though Bobby sometimes teased him about being a bookworm. The third was that he needed caffeine in the morning. Not coffee, as he couldn't stand the taste. But a soda, some breath mints, or his personal favorite, mocha. When he first arrived, he had a couple instant pouches in his bag, allowing him to drink the beverage in his room. When Ororo found out about them, she went out and bought some so he could properly make it in the kitchen. What they don't realize is, I need it when I wake up. Not when I get to kitchen.

His parents had learned that the hard way. One summer he they had guests staying over, and his mother forgot to bring him a cup and set it by his bed. He ended up walking to the kitchen in his boxers and nothing else, much to the embarrassment of his mother and father. Me too, when I finally realized why they were trying to avert their eyes.

Slowly, but surely, Douglas managed to pry himself up from the mattress, grimacing as he felt kinks in his arms and back. "Christ, what a work out. I'm gonna be sore for days." He took in the look on Kurt's face. "Oh, sorry." Once again, he had cursed the Lord's name in front of his devoutly Catholic roommate. Start cursing his name in French. That should confuse him. Or Egyptian...

"S'okay, man." Kurt, once he was sure Douglas was going to leave his bed, hopped over to his side of the room and sat on the footboard of his bed, watching as the blond peeled his legs out from under the covers. Kurt was sure his roomie was still cursing the Lord's name, but as he didn't understand, well, it sounded Arabic, he couldn't be sure. "So, where did you go yesterday?" His tail swung and curved around a bedpost.

Douglas pulled on some sweat pants. He may have preferred his sleeping attire, but he was too shy to show up at the breakfast table just wearing that, especially with girls around. "Lunch. Movie. Mall. Date. Not in that order." He yawned and scratched his head. First I'll get the mocha, then I'll hit the shower. A nice, loooooong shower. With lots of heat. He pulled at his shirt and looked at it, debating whether to put something more on or just go as is.

Unnoticed by him, Kurt had gone rigid. No...it can't be. It can't! That's just...that's not fair! "Was...your date...with Kitty?"

"Yeah." Douglas blinked, a smile touching his face. "Yeah, it was. I...had a wonderful time. She actually listened to me." An alertness that usually only came after his caffeine intake seemed to take affect. "You know, I've had friends, but none of them cared why I believed certain things, or how my family life was going. Kitty, though, she just sat and smiled. I knew it was boring for her, but she didn't stop me. She rode it out and talked, actually talked with me afterwards." He closed his eyes and fell back on his bed, his arms resting behind his head. "And she didn't ditch me, or put me down, or give me sad looks because I screwed up." He opened his baby blues and looked over at Kurt. "It was my first date, you know, and I wasn't really sure how to act."

Kurt, on the other hand, was still rigid. His toes and fingers were gripping the footboard, and his tail, still wrapped around the bedpost, tightened its grip. Kurt's mind wasn't focused on controlling it right now. He got asked out by Kitty...only after a day?! Kurt knew his looks never scored points with Kitty, but he had hoped she would look beyond his appearance, to see who he really was and maybe, just maybe, ask him out. That little...first he comes into my room, then he takes my Kaetzchen... Despite what he was feeling, though, Kurt's face was impassive, giving Douglas no clue as to the turmoil that was inside the fury mutant's mind.

"And at the end, she kissed me." Douglas sat up and faced Kurt. "Me. It was my first kiss, and it was by a girl I like. I mean, she could have anyone. You, Scott, Bobby, but she chose me. You have no idea how...how great this is. I've finally been noticed and not just to be used or simple friends. She likes me. A lowly...lowly translator." He ran a hand through his hair, ignoring how the action failed to subdue the wild pillow hair. "This is probably one of the best things in my life. I," he blinked, hunching his shoulders, "I'm glad I have a friend I can share it with."

Kurt stared, his yellow pupils widening slightly. Me. He means me. Wunderbar! I get to listen to him swoon about the girl of my dreams! And he expects me to be...be happy for him? From the look on Douglas' face, Kurt knew the answer. What in Gott am I supposed to do? Scott's words about helping him fit in and acting friendly came to mind. I guess I can at least...pretend to be happy. Ja, that'll work. Slowly, Kurt's mouth twitched upward into a small grin.

Douglas felt better when he saw Kurt smile. I hope I didn't insult him or make him feel bad. He can't have a normal girlfriend. Hmm...there's got to be someone around here that's interested. Maybe that, what's her name, Rouge. Yeah, her. Maybe Kitty could talk her into a double date with Kurt. He blinked when he heard something crack. "What was that?"

Kurt glanced at his tail and noticed it was slowly uncurling it from the now damaged bedpost. Whoops. And here I thought I had my feelings well under control. He shrugged and hopped onto the floor. "Probably one of the new mutants doing something. Come on, let's go eat."

Douglas nodded and stood up, grabbing a book from the top of his dresser before hurrying out the door. Wonder if I can grab a seat next to Kitty. He felt the high from talking about his girlfriend--Girlfriend. My girlfriend.--start to wear off. Better get that caffeine-sugar mix into me first. Otherwise I'm gonna crash right in my eggs.

Kurt followed a little more slowly, his tail thrashing, even though it was drooping. No matter what mask he put on, no matter how confident a posture he had, his tail would always indicate what he was truly feeling. Normally he could concentrate and get his tail to at least stay off the ground. Today, though, he couldn't concentrate. Not on his tail, at least. He had to figure out how he was going to get through this. I'm sharing a room with the man who stole my Kaetzchen. Maybe the Professor will allow me to go back to staying by myself now. I don't think I could be friendly to him any more.

He stopped walking as he got to the doorway to the dining room. Rouge had traded her place with Douglas, allowing the blonde mutant to sit next to Kitty. While his eyes were focused on a book, he was smiling as Kitty went on about something at school. Is he even listening to her? He got his answer when it appeared she asked him something, and he replied, winning him a brief hug from Kitty. Kurt felt his stomach twist. Part of him was hungry, but another part had lost his appetite. He was about to escape, when the Professor caught his eye. Verdammt. Now he knew he had to eat. So, putting on his clown face, he teleported into his chair and started piling up his plate. Just act as if everything is normal.

"Like, ew. How can you eat that, Kurt?" Kitty stabbed a piece of cantaloupe with her fork.

Kurt grinned, though it was only surface deep. "I'm hungry. Besides, your boyfriend is eating the same thing."

Kitty wrinkled her nose. "Like, I know, but he's not doing it in excess. Besides, he, like, will eat anything on his plate when he's reading."

"Not true," came the muffled reply from the teen next to her. "I still taste things." Douglas swallowed and pulled his eyes away from the book, glancing at his roommate. "Besides, I eat the meat for the vitamins and proteins."

"And I eat it for calories." Kurt kept his grin in place as he dove into the food, pushing his feelings aside. Just get through the meal. Then you can go out and...figure things out.

Logan glanced at Kurt, sensing something wrong, but remained silent. Instead he glared at the back of Douglas' head, as he continued to read and eat.

Kitty picked up on Logan's displeasure. "Um, Douglas? I think Mr. Logan wants you to put your book away."

"Why?" Douglas blinked at her, tilting his head. "Is there something wrong?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "Man, didn't you have discussions and such at meals? To read is rude."

"Ah." Douglas tried to hide his disappointment as he closed the book and set it under his chair. "Sorry. I was just excited about my books arriving yesterday."

Scott winced at that. Douglas had been out when the package had arrived, and he, foolishly, volunteered to bring it to Douglas' room, as Hank was complaining about the package being left in the middle of the entry way. "What is that book, anyway?"

Douglas sat up a bit and swallowed the eggs he was working on. "Well, it's from scripts found on an excavation of the Valley of the Kings. It's talking about the culture, the mythology, especially the mythology. Actually, I'm trying to cross-reference a specific name with others I've found, as I there's no real historic reference. The problem is the term is so obscure that it could be buried anywhere within the ancient texts, so-"

"We get the idea, dude. Give it a rest."

Douglas flinched slightly at that, but smiled and shrugged. "Sorry. I get excited by ancient languages." He looked down at his plate and picked at his food a minute before eating again.

Kitty glared at Roberto, the one who had effectively told Douglas to shut up. From the look on his face, the Professor was lecturing him as well. Serves him right. "If you want, you can tell me about it later."

Douglas shook his head. "No, no, that's okay. It'd probably bore you. It's just...something I do as a hobby." He set his fork down. "Actually, I'd kinda just like to read today, if that's okay. After yesterday's workout, my body needs a rest."

Kitty reached under the table and squeezed Douglas' hand. "That's, like, cool. I know this great place on the grounds."

"Thanks, Kitty." Douglas closed his eyes. After taking a calming breath, he opened his eyes and pushed his chair away. "I'm heading for the shower. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Like, of course." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing him to turn red. "I'll be waiting for you."

Douglas muttered something and Kitty watched him scurry way, and giggled. He's so cute.

"So, you two are getting close pretty fast." Jean extended her power to pull the waffles away from Kurt towards her.

Kitty turned more pink, but nodded. "He's cute, and shy, and he understands what I'm saying." She downed her orange juice. "And he's considerate. He's always worried that I'm boring him or if he's unsure he'll ask. He's so straightforward and honest that it's surprising."

"He rambles about nonsense. I mean, how can you understand any of that stuff he talked about?" Evan poured himself another glass of milk.

"He doesn't ramble. He, like, explains. And I don't always understand him, but I like, get what he means." Kitty crossed his arms and rested them on the edges of the table. "And he likes to talk a lot because I don't think people have let him. I asked him about his religion, and he spent about ten minutes explaining why he believed what he believed. If you gave him a chance, you'd find he's really an interesting guy."

There was a snort from the new mutant's end of the table. Kitty chose to ignore it.

"What is he?" That came from Kurt. "I room with him and can't figure out what he believes."

Kitty shifted a bit uncomfortably. Is it, like, my place to tell them what he is? "Um, I don't know if he'd want me to. Or actually, he could probably explain it better than me."

Ororo raised her eyebrow, finally sitting down to eat. "Religion is a very personal matter. Perhaps it would be best for him to decide whether we need to know."

Kitty thought a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. It's up to him to tell you. The point is, you guys should let him talk, because it's worth hearing about, and he deserves that consideration." She stood up and headed for her room.

Bobby shifted nervously and glanced around the table. The New Mutants, minus Jamie, were uncomfortable at Kitty's statement. Especially Roberto, who obviously had a mental reprimand from their head professor. The X-Men seemed unfazed, though they had spent less time with Douglas than the others, with the exception of Kurt and Kitty. Lucky them.

"So," Kurt looked around the table, "could someone pass the sausages?"

~*()*~

Douglas rolled his head around, stretching his neck. God, how long have I sat here? He twisted his arm and squinted at his watch. Two hours? Not bad for two hours.

As promised, Kitty had brought a book and took him to a small grove in the forest. There was plenty of natural light, but the two were still covered by shade. Douglas had immediately taken a liking to the place, and understood why Kitty enjoyed it as well. He had opted to sit against a tree trunk, and Kitty had, to his delight and despite his blush, had opted to sit next to him, her shoulder brushing against his.

He glanced over a couple times at first, noticing a smile on her face, as well as noting that her book was a romance novel. Wonder if that was a hint. He continued his reading in the book he had at brunch, making notes with a pencil and dog-earing certain pages. The reference was to Exodus, and what he couldn't understand was how a book of the Bible that shouldn't have even existed yet could be referenced in ancient Egyptian texts.

Egypt wasn't the only mention. There was a mention of it in Babylon, in a Chinese tomb, and a couple other places around the Mediterranean. All predating either the Exodus book itself, or the mass production of the Bible. In addition, there was one text he had skimmed (he hadn't had time to fully read it yet) that seemed to personify the book. It's like a riddle wrapped in an enigma in the middle of a labyrinth. He smirked. Well, I do love a mystery.

"Hey, you-" Douglas blinked when he didn't feel Kitty move at her name. "Kitty?"

"Mm."

Douglas turned his head and raised his eyebrows. Kitty's book was resting on her lap, and he head had migrated to his shoulder. How'd I miss that? He felt blood creeping up his cheeks. She's just taking a nap. That's all. Nothing more. It's kinda...nice. Scooting a little closer to make sure her head wouldn't fall off him, Douglas opened his book again and started reading through it again.

He never noticed the twin yellow glows coming from a tree near them, or the smell of sulfur as a certain blue mutant teleported away.

~*()*~

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Author's Prattle: Et chapter five is out. Whoohoo, ne? If you couldn't tell, the bold text indicates Kitty typing her e-mail. Also, for those of you who already figured out what's coming up, yes, I'm changing the history, but it's creative license. As for Kurt and Cipher's relationship, I'm gonna try and expand how rocky it'll become next chapter. Also, those of you who want more Jamie, he'll be back next chapter too.

Chapter six'll probably be out in another week. Maybe two, as I've got two midterms. I also wanna get started on an SG-1 fic (another one) and my Ronin fic MUST have my attention before certain web mistresses boot it off their site. Though compared to those fics, these chapters are short and easy to write. So we'll see...

Disclaimers. Ohh...well, the obvious one: I don't own X-Men Evolution or its characters and settings. Also, my beta forgot this, so here's a reminding: Cipher doesn't belong to me. He's a character of Marvel (granted, short-lived); I'm just using him. I also don't mean to offend anyone with Cipher's swearing at the Lord. He's an atheist, and that's just a part of his character.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Until next time, reviews are welcome, but more importantly, enjoy!