Hidden Place

Part Three: Scary

Pairing: Kurt x Pietro

Completed: January 04

Warnings: I don't own X-men or any of the characters, so there. A phenomenal song inspired this fic by Bjork called "Scary". Go Here for lyrics to the song. If you can download the song!

Sunrise, sunset, something had grown in him since the night before. The sunset brought a new face to the back of his mind, but the sunrise had removed its warmth. He was cold and alone again, feeling the weight of every morning awoken to in solitary. The spring of hope had spilled over and clouded his mind. Joy sprang forth when he thought of that foreign face, that clean, smooth, beautiful face with battle scars. The valve tightened back up when the knock came to his door.

"You in there, Blue?" kitty called.

"Erf," he replied through the thick green pillow.

"Lunch is ready! Come on out."

"I'm not eating lunch!" he called back. "Not with you anyway."

She had already run past his door when he replied. The clock's face read 12:30 past his clouded eyelids. The next thing he noticed was the smell of his fur. It smelled like someone had poured vinegar or something on him. Afraid of the reaction of his nose and everyone else's, he jumped out of bed and into the bathroom with a poof of vinegar.

Amidst the wide stream, the fur that clung to his body felt ever more cumbersome and seeming to only return weightiness for careful cleaning. The steam crawled into his nostrils whirling some pagan scent into his brain. This recent sickness that had kept him attached to the darkest pit in his soul returned to its place when he thought of the liberation of a day among lots of people treating him as if they were equals. Toweling dry, the hope he had been dwelling on dried out when he heard a vague swoosh in the back of the bedroom. He ran to the middle of the room with the blue terry cloth in his hand. "Quicksilver?" he whispered.

Seeing no one he giggled at his imagination. Was hope that strong that he was beginning to hear things as well? It appeared that the more hope he had the more the despair thinned out as it was flooded out. The very idea of attraction made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end with electricity. Hunting for clothes, he nit-picked between this and that like Kitty or Rouge when no one was looking.

Satisfied, the kitchen beckoned to him for a small 12-inch sub before lunch. The other students were still in the dining room joking when he snuck around and prepared his snack. After scarfing it down he put the sandwich parts in their rightful place before looking to the ceiling meaning to disappear. Rogue saw him and quickly grabbed his arm. "Where are ya goin'?"

Startled, he smiled at her and replied, "Just out to za comic book shop. You vanna let go of me?" he yanked his arm away. "I'll be back in a vhile." He teleported out of the mansion and out of sight.

Rogue catalogued it into the many recent things he had done that were odd and went on her way.

Elated to get out of there, he walked into town and waited for the pale one by the comic book shop. There was a fair nearby for the weekend, which he suspected was where he was to be taken later in the afternoon. The streets were crowded with patrons of the stores that lined the stores and people making their way to the fair.

He pattered and paced for a few minutes before the taller pale one bolted to stand behind him. Hearing the swoosh, he turned around to feel the swelling of his fountain. His chest felt warm and this spread into his every living cell without even a touch. "Hey," he said slightly nervous.

"Hey," he returned in a warm breathy voice. He merely stared at him for a moment or five and said, "You ready for our date?"

His eyebrow rose, "Depends. What are we doing first?"

His weight shifted to his right leg and he stood pensively for a moment. "Should I feed you first? Or shall the wooing begin now?"

A blue smile crawled across his face. "Oh! I forgot, I've got to go pick something up, do you mind?"

"Sure what is it?"

"This way," he motioned toward the next set of buildings in the stretch of stores to a huge green and tan building that looked unfamiliar to Pietro. He followed him closely, not wanting to loose the boy he'd been fawning after in the crowd. Once inside, he marveled at the tall ceiling that concealed another floor of the same matter. "This is a bookstore."

"Well, yes it is. Evaa been in one?" he smiled.

He made a sarcastic face at him and they ventured up the grand stairs and into the farthest corner of the store. They stood at the base of an enormous row of books pertaining to art. The shorter boy stood on his tiptoes to skim the book he desired with his fingertips. Pietro watched this for a moment quite amused then helped the book down into his hands. "What's this one?"

He fingered through the pages seeming to know the book quite well already. "It's a bunch of fantasy and surreal art. You won't find a normal person in here," he mused. The pictures revealed muscle-bound men and elegant fairy-looking women among other fantastical creatures in foreign surroundings. They seemed to fit right in the pictures. Quicksilver gazed at the pictures then at Nightcrawler in wonder. After a few more page flips, they made their way to the cash register.

Outside of the massive building, the blue one looked to the other to see what they were going to do next. "Next?"

He smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the flow of the crowd. The blue one blushed in his hologram at the feel of another's hand on his. He had to try to hide it somehow. Looking like everyone else did have its disadvantages.

The pair stood before a small café with ivy scaling the exterior walls and small vases of flowers on each table. Seated almost instantly, Kurt was amazed at Pietro's resourcefulness. This place seemed so out of Quicksilver's realm . . .

With a pair of tiger lilies between them, partially hiding behind his tall menu, Kurt coyly peaked over the paper to see his date while Pietro stole longer glances over his closed menu. "You like it here?"

He put his menu down as well and nodded. "It's so, nice. Not quite vhat I expected."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Kurt's eyes tossed around his head for a while, trying to match the appropriate words he wanted to say then translating them in different ways, seeing which combination would convey what he was feeling without getting Pietro angry. His tail wound and unwound around his leg in place of twiddling with his fingers. He lifted his gaze to his date who was already looking apprehensively at him. Did he already know what he was thinking?

"I, uh, I'm sorry for being so suspicious of your motives ze azer day." Pietro nodded still waiting for whatever it was he was thinking that bound his mind up. If Kurt was going to be with Pietro he would have to stop being Nightcrawler looking at Quicksilver. He let the words in his mind flow. "Being zat ve are who ve are sings may have to be kept a secret from everyvone. I'm sorry to do it zhis vay, but I don't vant zem to hurt you."

Pietro put his hands on the tabletop and looked at them and nodded. "I don't want them to hurt you either," he replied, but there was something more in his gaze. Almost anger. Seeing the concerned look on Nightcrawler's face, he smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. Are you ready to order?"

The meal went off without a hitch by the staff. Everything was perfect for their first date. They had sweaty palms, heart races, and timid shoe touching. Pietro damned the location in his head. If they were somewhere else they could be a bit closer. As they spoke to each other of school and friends and such, Pietro could see the coy Kurt come out a bit and be the Kurt he was around the other X-men. Maybe it was because they knew him as Kurt and not as Nightcrawler, he thought. Pietro remained open and attentive, which was almost surreal for Kurt to see.

"So I was so freaked when my sister showed up. I mean Wanda; my psycho sister was with us for a change. She thinks I'm my father's lapdog. I'm not though; I'm just a son of an idealistic nut. Plus it's not like I have a choice in the matter either. I'm sure he'd squash me into a meat pancake if I disobeyed him," Pietro said on their way out of the café. He rambled on trying to convey his every fluid thought to Kurt, but saved the more sentimental ones for later. One he let display across his face was his want to touch Kurt anywhere, even just brushing his shoulder or holding hands. Seeing this, Kurt blushed and distracted himself.

"Hey, let's go to get some tickets so ve can ride a few rides, ja?"

Pietro saw the little kid in him peek out, almost coaxing his to pop out for a least a night. He nodded and they headed for the stand.

After purchasing a few tickets, they bought cotton candy and seats on the biggest ride the fair had. It twisted upside-down and sideways all around scaring Pietro. He kept a small smirk on his face to cover his fearful eyes. "You scared, Kurt?"

"Not really. If anysing happens I could just . . ." he stopped what he was saying as he noticed that they were in a crowded line. "You know."

"Yeah, I'd be screwed though. Tell my family I dead in the midst of battle. An honorable death," he saluted the shorter one who smacked him in the stomach lightly. He was surprised at the sudden contact. The other one was also surprised at the hardness of his stomach, he wanted to inspect it more, but the line moved forward a few paces, and he had to move with it.

They were still in the middle stretch of the waiting line when Nightcrawler ran out of things to say. Pietro felt the line behind him grow impatient and push forward. Moving with it, he pushed right into Nightcrawler's backside who started to fall down. His arm instinctively wound around his waist and pulled him against him to stabilize his center of gravity. The proximity pulled the air out of both of their lungs and their cheeks reddened to the shade of the railing, but they wanted to let go since they were in public, while wanting to hold on for dear life. Pietro turned to the people behind him and spat loudly, "Watch where you're going!"

Reluctantly, he let go and the line moved a bit more. "I'm sorry about that," he apologized.

He shook his head. "It's no problem. So vhere do you vant to go next?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can just roam around for a while and see what peaks our interest." He looked around but ultimately found the Ferris wheel hiding behind some trees in the distance.

Nightcrawler looked in the other direction to see a big sign that read his favorite words. He smiled at Pietro and tilted his head toward the sign.

His eyebrow quirked and he smirk, "Nachos? But we just ate."

"Ja, like an hour ago."

Laughing, Pietro followed Nightcrawler into a seat on the ride. They had to sit one in front of the other with only seat belts as restraints. Not without strange looks from the attendant, Pietro sat down first then Kurt sat in front of him and snuggled up to him a bit without looking like he was doing it on purpose. They were strapped in and the ride took off slowly so they could climb to a higher altitude. Pietro inhaled his scent as Kurt looked over the side to see the view of the fair. "That ride looks fun!" he pointed at a log 0ride not too far away. "But it's got vater . . ."

"And?" he asked as his hands tried not to wrap around the other boy as they itched to.

"My hologram vill short out if I go on zhat von," he said half mournfully. Noticing their height and the feeling of Pietro's heart racing in fright, he snickered. "Here ve go."

In less than a minute, the ride went upside-down, sideways, and faster than most Carney rides. Pietro had given up on keeping his fright to himself and held onto the sides of the ride tightly and squeaked in fright while Kurt rose his arms into the air and whooped totally thrilled. The ride slowed and Pietro lessened his grip and draped his arms over Kurt's shoulders for a second to stretch them. "So we go get Nachos next?"

"Ja! You vere so scared," he reported as they climbed out of the ride. He already missed the heat on his body, but went on, "Pietro is a scaredy-cat!"

"No, I'm not."

He smiled back. "Ja, you are."

"You want nachos?" he asked.

Frowning for a moment, he then sighed in defeat. "Ja."

They were quiet on the way to the stand when Pietro saw the house of mirrors. "Hey let's go in there, okay?"

Kurt's eyes grew wide. "I've never been in von. Vhat is it like?"

"Well, you'll see." He paid for their way in, and waited for Kurt's slower pace to catch up as they walked through the dark hallway into the first wave of mirrors. He watched Kurt's reactions to his own image bend and thin out into almost unrecognizable forms. Strangely, he didn't laugh or smile. Almost mesmerized by the changes, he reached out to the mirror.

"Look," he pulled him further away from the mirror and pointed at the image. "We are so fat," he said. Their butts and chests melded into one section as the other parts stretched out. "We look like Toad in the morning."0

That finally got Kurt to laugh. "Zhen ve better move before ve stay like zhat."

They walked to the next mirror and burst out laughing. They became as short as their child selves and walked faster through the rest of the hall of mirrors. After a couple more halls, they realized that it was a maze, not just a hall.

"If I could see outside ve could just get out of here."

"Where would the fun be in that?" he retorted. He headed back to the previous hallway and took a different turn. "This way," he said once he was out of sights.

Turning the corner, Kurt saw a couple kids from his math class. He had to hide his face from them. If they saw him together with Pietro they might suspect something. He quickly took the turn and followed his date out of the hall quietly.

"Well I feel jipped," he complained. "That was far too short. Well, you want nachos?"

"Sure, but, Pietro," he said. Pietro turned to look at him. "I saw some kids from my class, maybe we should . . ."

Pietro cut him off. "I don't care if they see us together, Kurt. So what if they see us? What will they do? Even if they saw us holding hands or something do you think they would run around telling everyone?"

"I don't know. I just don't vant to put either of us in a bad situation."

Pietro pat his back and said, "Don't worry about it. It's your night tonight, Kurt. Do whatever you want," he took out the tickets and handed them to the cashier.

"Anything I want, huh?" he muttered to himself as he took the nachos from Pietro.

Pietro took a chip into his mouth and gave him an inquisitive look.

Kurt smirked and ate a gooey chip, savoring the Carney taste. "These things are the best!"

"Let's go find something else to do."

The two walked side by side chatting about different carnivals they had been to when half way into the nachos Kurt told him about his experiences with the circus. "And of course I vas a freak, but I had talent. I valked tight-rope and ozer sings."

"I wish I could have seen you perform," he smiled. "You were probably a very cute child."

Kurt smiled and thanked him. "But ze people who praised me ended up stringing me up, trying to kill me," he said mournfully.

"What? That's cruel," he said in a small voice.

"But then I came to America. Sings are much better here."

"I'm glad." He didn't know quite what to say to that, so he said nothing, just appreciated his presence next to him. After throwing the nacho container away, he saw the night sky crawl over the afternoon horizon. "It's getting late. Do you need to be back any time soon?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I have all night, meine Freund."

"I see. Well how about I pick the next ride?"

"Okay, what's next? Another ride?" he asked.

"You'll see." On the other side of the carnival sat the ride. He wanted to surprise him.

"Was ist . . " he said when Pietro put his hands over his eyes. He rested his hands over the hands on his eyes in wonder.

"I don't want you to see until we get there. It'll be a surprise."

"Um, okay," he decided it was more fun to play along anyway. "It better be vorth it."

Stumbling a bit while walking the pair giggled and spoke of school. "So why are you in Chemistry anyway? I figured you hated that stuff." He felt an eyebrow rise under his palm.

"Vhy is that?" he asked back.

"You're just such a goof around the others. I didn't think you did much that was serious, well aside from fighting."

"Well, I like it very much. It's fun. I get to make sings explode."

"On purpose?"

"Most of the time," he sighed.

Laughing, he saw the ride approaching fast. "It's coming up soon. Are you excited?"

"Yeah, a bit sad though," he said in quieter voice.

"Why is that?" he leaned it a little closer to hear him.

"After za ride ve vill have to go home, right?"

"Not necessarily," he smiled.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a line. They waited quietly, nervously waiting for their turn to climb onboard. Kurt became a bit anxious. "Come on, can't I just peek?" he whined and pleaded.

"Nope. You'll be able to look soon."

"Is ze line long?"

"Miles long," he stated.

"Erg," he elbowed him in the gut. "Mean boy."

"You know I'm not that mean."

"Not zhat mean, but you have been mean to me before. I hated you," he said softly.

His arms drooped a bit, but he held his hands over his eyes. "I'm sorry. But that hasn't been recently has it?"

"Not really. Vhy vere you so mean to me?"

"Because you were on the other side. I hadn't thought about what you were going through. We are on rival teams. After I took the time to think about your position after that one day, I started seeing you for who you really were, not just an enemy."

"What day?"

"You don't remember? Well, it was a couple months back. You were running to a class and I zipped by you and tripped you. You went flying into some lockers and hit your face. I laughed at you when I heard you sniffing, but then you looked back at me. Your nose was bleeding pretty bad and your cheek was all swollen. You had his look of complete defiance on your face. And you nose bleed all over your shirt, but you just kept on staring back at me. You face didn't look angry then, just sort of prideful, but not cocky. That's when it happened. Right then I began thinking of you everyday, every night."

Kurt's hands crawled up to cover Pietro's. Silence wrapped around them in a moment. Kurt contemplated the warmth that crawled from his chest up to his face and down to his stomach when he heard this. He liked this feeling, but it made him feel so good he eyes welled up.

Luckily he was then pushed into a booth that rose up. He had barely sat down when it took off from the ground. A few moments later, he saw the night sky's bright moon and the fairgrounds from up above. "The Ferris wheel!"

Pietro draped his arm over the back of the seat and scooted closer to the other one. Blushing, Kurt leaned into him and took his hand into his. "Zhank you, Pietro. I'm having fun."

Pietro kissed the top of his head and rest his cheek on it. "Thank you for agreeing to come on a date with me." His draping arm wrapped around his shoulder, pulling him a bit closer. "I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"

"Nein. . . I mean, no. Zhis is great. I did not sink zhat you could be zhis romantic." Kurt looked up at him, realizing how close they were. His eyes were the lightest blue, like the earliest morning sky shooing away the colors of the night. Was he really that pure, that potent?

About two inches from his lips were the perfect lips of the hologram. Lightly, he switched off the hologram on his watch, which startled Kurt at first, but he gave in. Now he was perfect. The blue plump lips opened a sliver. Pietro felt the aching warmth in his soul quiver when he gazed at this marvelous sight. Kurt's hand wrapped tighter around Pietro's as Pietro's arm lowered and pulled him closer to himself. The suffocating grip of the night enclosed around them. A pale hand rose to feel the blue lips with its fingertips. Moist and inviting, he couldn't stop petting them, but moved to pet his face. His cheek felt like the finest fur he'd ever laid a hand on. As he closed in for a kiss, the ride slowed. Kurt quickly put the hologram back on and they loosened their embrace. The attendant was not shocked at all, like he had seen the same thing all night. This eased their slight embarrassment.

Kurt grabbed Pietro's hand and smiled up at him. "So, Pietro," he thought about how to phrase his next question.

Pietro liked hearing his name roll off of his lips. It sounded how it was supposed to be said, like no one had ever said it right before, not even his father or sister. "Yes, Kurt?"

"Have you been wis a guy like zhis before?" he asked timidly.

He nodded, "Once before. When I was a child I spent lots of time with my best friend. One day, I was running around the swings using my powers and everything and he stood right in front of me and I knocked him over. He looked dead so I freaked out and started to cry. After a bit he opened his eyes and said he was okay. I cheered up, but I still didn't believe that I had not hurt him. To prove he was, he kissed me on the cheek. We laughed about it, but as we grew older that moment got the best of us and we became involved. We hardly did anything more than make out, but it was still fun. Later he moved away. His parents found out about us one day and moved away the next."

"Vhen vas zhat?"

"About two years ago."

"Have you seen him since zhen?"

"Nah. He's probably forgotten about me anyway. What about you? Have you ever been with a guy?"

"Nein, I have made out with a guy once, but never liked one so much," he squeezed his hand a bit which was reciprocated.

"What about girls?"

"I have had crushes on zhem before, but nosing more zhan a kiss."

"Like Kitty?" he asked with a hint of jealousy.

"For a while. She is so disgusted zhis me. She tries not to say it, but I could tell by ze vay she looks at me. But it's over."

"She's a bitch to you. I'm glad that you saw your way out of that. Oh," he saw the cotton candy stand. "You want some?"

"Sure."

Pietro handed the man his last remaining tickets and took some blue cotton candy. "Here," he handed him the bag.

Playing with the opening, he hooked his arm around Pietro's so he could hold on and open the bag at the same time. Pietro's hand rested in his pocket as he watched him. Kurt added, "So are you having fun?"

"Of course. I'm getting to get to know about you."

Kurt handed him some sugar fluff and asked, "So vhat is next?"

He shrugged and looked at his watch. "It's about ten o'clock."

"Maybe ve should get back soon."

"If you say so. It's not like Mystique keeps tabs on us all the time or anything. I could be out for days and she wouldn't notice unless there was like a mission or something," he was not trying to hint at a sleepover, but it slipped out.

Kurt blushed a little. "Well the Professor likes to know vhere ve are. That's vhy I should get back. Maybe tomorrow ve could go see a movie or somesing. Is zhat good?"

"Sure. That would be great."

They walked out off of the fairgrounds and into the town, both knowing that the magnificent night was soon to be over.

"Ah, man, I've got a lot of homevork tomorrow, and ve are probably training, too. If ve see a movie it vill probably be late."

"Such a good student. It's okay if it's be late. I like the night better anyway." They approached the intersection nearest the institute. "I hope we get to go on a date again."

"Maybe I vill ask you next time," he said.

"That would be nice."

The tall white walls covered in ivy were in front of them before they knew it. They hid in the bushes farther from the gate. "Well this is it," Kurt sighed.

"May I give you a good night kiss?" Pietro leaned over him against the wall.

He nodded to him, having anticipated this moment since the fair. His hologram was switched off by Pietro again. A pale hand again grazed his soft face quickly caressing his cheek and lips, but less time was spent gazing at his eyes and more was spent closing in on him. Moist lips crashed against each other moving, opening, and inviting each other inside the other. Hands roamed bodies, but patiently stayed away from fun bits. Kurt indulged in feeling under Pietro's shirt, savoring those rock hard abs with his fingers. Pietro moaned into his mouth, calling out his name with his tongue. They separated and panted knowing that this was as far they could go for the night. "Ve have to stop," Kurt muttered into Pietro's ear.

"I know, but I don't want to let go of you," he clung tightly to him.

"I don't want you to either, but ve vill see each other tomorrow. I promise."

Pietro kissed the side of his head and let go of him. "I should go before I nail you to the wall. Thank you for a wonderful night, Kurt."

"No, zhank you."

"If you could have done anything else that you wanted to tonight, what would it have been?" his curiosity got the better of him.

He smiled and answered, "I vould have let you nail me to zhe vall. Goodnight, mein Herr." He teleported out of sight.

Quicksilver smiled at his absent shadow and walked back to his house.

When he teleported back into his room, Rogue was standing in the middle of it. "Ah, vhat are you doing in here, Rogue?"

"Where have you been, blue boy?" her tone was almost motherly, which annoyed Kurt.

"Get out, Rogue. It's none of your business."

"You owe me, Kurt!" she pounded out of the room.

Despite Rogue's disturbance, Kurt was still very stimulated. He rushed toward the bathroom, tore his clothes to the floor and turned the shower on. There naked and blue, he stepped into the stream of steaming water and teased himself a little before pumping as fast as he could. That face, that voice, those lips, Pietro was immeasurably attractive. The inescapable warm gaze loosened the air from his lungs, sped up his heart, and filled him with this want. He fell farther and farther into an abyss of hot images of his naked body, soft hands, and perfect skin. He wanted to be with that body, that mind. Wrapped in him, he felt to safe. The water helped to emulate that feeling, so warm, so calm, so close . . .

"Ah!" he groaned loudly as he came into the royal blue tile. "Pietro," he panted and leaned against the tile. "I miss you already. It's scary."

Part 4