*Chapter 15*
~Thanksgiving~
Kurt slumped tiredly down on the bench swing. He'd probably gotten only three or four hours of sleep last night and he felt so sleepy. He was so tired he was thinking of himself as that name he'd given Kitty instead of Zero or DX-0. With a weary sigh, he leaned back in his seat a rubbed at his eyes, if only he'd been able to fall asleep last night. Why hadn't he been able to sleep? It wasn't because he felt nervous or excited; he was sure that wasn't it. And Mr. Logan didn't snore so that didn't keep him up. What had kept him up were his thoughts and memories. His mind simply refused to shut off when it was supposed to, which left him wide-awake and staring at the ceiling most of the night. When he finally did fall asleep, it seemed like only a minute had passed before Mr. Logan poked him awake with his foot.
He muffled a yawn as he glanced through the window at the activity going on inside. Mrs. Pryde was rushing around the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner while Kitty followed her around like a helpful shadow. Mr. Pryde was in charge of the turkey and talked with Mr. Logan as the large bird cooked. There was no place for him in there. He would only get in Mrs. Pryde and Kitty's way if he tried to help them, and Mr. Pryde wouldn't even acknowledge that he existed let along talk to him. So that left him with no other option but to stay out of everyone else's way. Kurt looked away from the window as the feeling of loneliness once again overwhelmed him. He had no place here, he didn't belong. He swallowed hard and his hands clutched his tail tightly so they wouldn't shake.
A sudden loud crash from inside made him jump and nearly fall off the swing. He heard some muffled shouts and curses coming from the kitchen. Before he could make up his mind whether he should go in or not to see what had happened, the chaos came out to him. Without warning Kitty dove through the window and wall and somehow ended up in his lap. She was curled up into a ball with her arms around his neck and her face buried in his chest. Kurt looked down at her and blinked stupidly, how did this happen? Before he could gather his thoughts enough to ask Kitty what the heck was going on Mr. Pryde burst out of the house with his wife following close behind.
"How dare you run away!" Mr. Pryde roared.
"Leave her alone! It wasn't her fault!" Mrs. Pryde cried.
"Of course it was! She was the one who dropped it!" Mr. Pryde snarled whirling around to face his wife.
"She only dropped that plate because you hit her in the arm with those hot tongs!" Mrs. Pryde snapped.
"Oh, so it's my fault now!" Mr. Pryde shouted.
"I never said it was!" Mrs. Pryde shouted back.
"Then whose fault is it?" Mr. Pryde snarled.
"Nobody's, it was an accident!" Mrs. Pryde claimed.
"Right, an accident." Mr. Pryde spat sarcastically.
"It was!" Mrs. Pryde protested.
"Just like what happened to my favorite shirt was an accident!" Mr. Pryde snarled furiously.
"That wasn't a shirt anymore, it was barely even a rag!" Mrs. Pryde argued.
The two adults continued on arguing with each other like that oblivious to their audience. Kurt sat stunned, what was going on here? Yesterday they'd been the ideal little family, now they looked more like the ideal dysfunctional family. Before they'd been loving and welcoming to their daughter and her 'teacher', but now they were at each other's throats.
Kurt was jerked free from his temporary paralysis by the girl who was huddled in his lap. At first, he thought she was only shivering from the cold because she had no jacket on. But then he heard a sound beneath the shouting match going on in front of him. Kitty wasn't shivering, she was crying. Kurt was absolutely horrified. How could her parents just stand there and fight over nothing while their daughter was crying? As he watched the two elder Prydes fight, Kurt made a decision. He wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl, took a quick around, and 'ported her away with him to the guest room.
Once they arrived in the room, Kitty cried harder. She clung to him tighter as if she was afraid he might disappear and leave her. Kurt swallowed hard, while her close proximity was making him really uncomfortable, he couldn't leave her alone like this. Nervously he hugged her to his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. His tail stealthily slipped from its hiding place inside his hologram and coiled loosely around Kitty's waist. Despite all his efforts, her crying did not cease. But as the minutes passed, her tears began to slow and her energy was failing. Her wracking sobs slowly faded into faint whimpers and sniffles. After a while, she seemed calm enough for him to let go, but he didn't feel like it just yet.
"I wish I knew why they fight like that. If I knew why then I could fix it." Kitty whispered hoarsely.
"How often does this happen?" Kurt quietly asked.
"Sometimes they fight all day, other times they get along wonderfully for weeks, even months at a time." She mumbled. "I never know how long the good times will last."
"Did they always fight this way?" Kurt wondered.
"Always," she whispered. "But lately it's gotten worse, ever since I..." Kitty trailed off into silence.
"Ever since you what?" Kurt asked after a moment.
"Ever since I found out that I was a Mutant." She answered finally. Kurt tightened his tail's grip and the triangular tip rubbed gentle circles on her side.
"It's not your fault that they fight." Kurt tried to assure her.
"Yes it is!" Kitty whimpered.
"But you said they fought before they knew." Kurt countered.
"True, but if I hadn't been born they would've been divorced a long time ago. They only stick together because they think it's best for me." She muttered miserably.
"That's terrible!" He gasped.
"I know, but that's the way things are for me." She sighed. Before Kurt could speak anymore, she began to peel his arms and tail away from her to stand. "Thank you." She whispered, then kissed his cheek and walked out of the room.
Kurt sat perfectly still for a while. His face tingled where she'd kissed him and he felt strangely warm. Then he remembered he still had his jacket on which explained why he felt warm but not why his cheek was all tingly. Kurt slowly pulled off his now partly damp coat and flopped back on his sleeping bag. Despite his unhappiness at her family's difficulties and his anger at her parents' behavior, he found that he felt kind of glad that he was here. He hoped that he'd been able to help Kitty feel better, it hurt to see her so sad. A sudden yawn reminded him of how tired he still was so he decided to take a quick nap before dinner. With another yawn and a stretch, he curled up on his side and closed his eyes. A minute later, he was asleep.
***
Kitty collapsed on her fluffy pink bed with a sigh. By some miracle from above, Thanksgiving dinner had gone off without a problem. By the time she'd finished cleaning herself up in the bathroom her parents had stopped fighting and were back working in the kitchen. Logan had apparently stayed there the entire time to keep things from burning and to clean up the broken plate. Kitty could tell from the looks he gave her parents that whatever respect he'd had for them was now gone. From then on Kitty decided to stay out of the kitchen until her parents were finished with it.
When dinner was finally ready and waiting on the dinning room table Kitty realized that Kurt was nowhere in sight. She quickly searched every room until she discovered his location. He was curled up on a green nylon sleeping bag fast asleep. He looked so cute sleeping like that that it had taken a bit of effort not to just leave him to sleep in peace. At first, he didn't want to get up until she reminded hum that it was dinnertime. He then followed her downstairs stumbling through a sleepy fog. Kitty smiled as she remembered how quickly he woke up upon seeing the small feast laid out on the table.
Dinner went very well she thought. After her father had said a quick blessing, the food was passed around and Thanksgiving dinner had commenced. It had been the quietest Thanksgiving dinner ever and not just because there hadn't been any extended family present. Her parents refused to say a word to each other though they occasionally would say something to her or Logan. Neither of them spoke to Kurt though, which was a bit upsetting. But Kurt didn't seem to mind it so she tried not to let it bother her. All the food had tasted great and she'd nearly given herself a stomachache because she ate so much. By the time everyone finished eating it was late, so after helping her mother clean up, she'd headed up here.
Now she was all nice and comfy in her heart-covered flannel pajamas laying on her warm comfy bed. Kitty melted through her covers and pulled a worn stuffed dragon that she'd named Lockheed out from under her pillow. With a small smile she turned out her bedside lamp and snuggled down to sleep. Sometime later she found herself wide-awake and she didn't have a clue have a clue as to why. Her alarm clock said it was past mid-night and her room was dark and silent. She knew she'd been asleep, so why was she suddenly awake in the middle of the night? She held her breath and strained her ears trying to hear any sound that might've been what woke her up.
Kitty was about to give up and go back to sleep when she heard something. It was a faint, muffled creaking sound that one part of the hallway floor made when somebody stepped on it. She sat up in bed and listened hard again to see if she heard it once more. About five minutes later she heard it again. Who the heck was walking the halls at this time of night? Her curiosity quickly got the best of her and with a sigh she hopped out of her bed and phased her way out into the hall. A few minutes later the floor creaked again and a shadowy figure with glowing eyes rounded the corner. Kitty frowned.
"Kurt, why aren't you sleeping?" She asked. Kurt yelped in surprise and tripped over himself at the sound of her voice.
"Um, I can't sleep." He sheepishly admitted after he recovered from his shock.
"Why, is Mr. Logan snoring?" Kitty asked.
"No, he doesn't snore. I just can't sleep." Kurt replied.
"Why?" She wondered.
"I don't know." He grumbled. Kitty thought for a moment before she got an idea.
"Get the sleeping bag and pillow and come with me." She ordered. Kurt did as he was told and grabbed the sleeping bag and pillow from the guest room. Kitty led him into her bedroom, but he paused in the doorway.
"I can't go in there." He whispered.
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because it's your room." He hissed.
"So is the room back in Chicago and you sleep in there too." She retorted. Kurt fell silent before he nervously entered her room and set himself up on the far side of the room. She watched from the edge of her bed as his slipped inside the green sleeping bag and tried to get comfortable.
"This isn't working." He grumbled after about ten minutes.
"You need to relax." Kitty suggested as she slid off her bed and moved to sit on the floor next to him.
"I am relaxed." He growled.
"No you're not." She sighed.
"I am too." He snapped. Kitty grinned, he was so immature.
"No you're not." She repeated softly. Kurt looked like he was about to protect again so she kept him quiet by touching a finger to his lips. "You're not relaxed." Kitty declared.
"Alright, I'm not." He finally sighed after she removed her finger.
"Good, now that we agree, relax and go to sleep." Kitty commanded.
"I'm not sure how." Kurt muttered.
"Wonderful." Kitty sighed sarcastically rolling her eyes.
How can you forget how to relax? She rested her chin in the palm of her left hand and fiddled with Kurt's elf ear with her right as she tried to think of a solution. Let's see, what do I do to relax? I play on the computer, but he doesn't seem to be into that. Reading him a book might work, but then I'd have to turn on a light. I could just talk to him, but he could complain about it or something... Hey, what's that? Kitty snapped herself out of her thoughts as a strange sound invaded her ears. Her eyes widened, the sound was coming from Kurt, he was purring like a cat. How much weirder can he get?
His eyes were closed and it looked like he'd fallen asleep. Kitty started to pull back her right hand, which had been rubbing his pointed ear, when the purring stopped. Kurt leaned into her hand started to whimper as if begging her to continue. He still looked asleep. Never mind, I spoke too soon... Kitty mentally sighed as she resumed rubbing his fuzzy ear. Kurt settled back down instantly and began to purr again. Kitty sighed out loud, if he kept this up all night she would never forgive him. Sometime after one in the morning, the purrs grew quieter until they stopped completely. Now he was asleep. With a tired yawn Kitty stumbled back to bed and burrowed under her covers. In less than a minute she was asleep too.