Chapter 35

Kurt Wagner

Nightcrawler knelt down at the edge of a stream and splashed his face with icy water. He never thought he would regret his decision to stick with this group and play native guide. But that was before the fiasco of Nürnberg. Now every second he was around them, around her, was unbearably stressful. He knew that she hadn't witnessed him, that all she had to go on was Bobby's description, but as far as he was concerned it was more than enough. She was suspicious of him; he could see it in her eyes every time he looked at her. She was figuring something out, and from the odd glint in her eyes lately, she was formulating some sort of plan.

"Hello!" A voice chirped directly behind him.

With a yelp Nightcrawler jolted forward and landed face first into the cold shallow stream. The shock of icy water sent him scrambling on top of a moss covered stone that jutted up in the middle of the brook. He sputtered and snorted trying to rid his nose and mouth of the frozen water that had invaded it while trying to keep his footing on the rock. Once he caught his breath he pushed the soaked hair out of his face so he could see just who had sent him into an unintentional cold bath. Kitty was standing there on the bank looking just as surprised as he felt. Then she burst out laughing as the humor of the situation over powered the shock of his extreme reaction.

"Ha ha ha, very funny." Nightcrawler snorted sourly, wringing out his soaked shirt.

"Oh I'm sorry!" She giggled. "I didn't think you'd jump quite so much!"

"Well I didn't think that you were behind me." He sighed.

"I guess not." She replied, calming down. "Come on, let's get you dried off." She sighed beckoning him to follow.

Nightcrawler was stunned and unable to react for a minute. Kitty was rarely so nice to him. While her attitude towards him had improved recently, it was still a surprise to him how kind she was being. He pulled himself free of his shock and abandoned his rock perch with one mighty leap. He obediently followed after her back to camp squeezing excess water from his clothing and fur as he went. At camp everyone was just waking up to enjoy some breakfast that Jean was cooking over the fire. As he padded into their view they all snickered and snorted over his rather damp condition.

"Ah yes, go ahead and laugh all you want. I may be wet, but at least I feel clean and refreshed." Nightcrawler jokingly bragged taking a seat close to the fire to try and dry out.

"I'm glad to hear that." Kitty teased dropping a large scrap of cloth onto his damp hair.

"And I am glad that you are glad." Nightcrawler replied, using the cloth to rub more water out of his dark hair.

"Now take off that shirt before you catch a cold." Kitty commanded. Nightcrawler stiffened, this was a problem. He was still wearing the ring, if she saw it he was in serious trouble.

"Nein." He replied, thinking quickly. "I refuse."

"Why?" She asked, half-curious, half-suspicious.

"It would be most improper of me if I were to remove my shirt in the presence of two proper ladies such as yourself and the Lady Jean." He retorted.

"True, but we are in the middle of a wilderness. There is no one around who would be offended; I know that Jean and I are not bothered by a shirt-less man." Kitty replied.

"Yes, don't mind us; I've seen a man with much more than his shirt off." Jean teased with a sly grin. Nightcrawler almost choked upon hearing that and Bobby actually did.

"Well, it would still bother me; I am quite a shy boy." Nightcrawler countered projecting an expression of perfect innocence.

"You, shy? Right, and I'm really the queen of England." Kitty snorted rolling her eyes skyward.

"Ah, but you are. You have the beauty of a queen and you are from England." Nightcrawler purred. Kitty gave him an odd look and studied him for a moment before nodding decisively. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jean move to sit directly next to Bobby and grip his shoulder. The other three men sat close to her as well. Something was up, Nightcrawler could feel it.

"You flatter me unfairly." She replied, edging closer to him.

"I speak only the truth." He returned, nervous at her sudden close proximity to him.

"Really? Is that why you hide so much from us?" She asked, slipping her slender hand into his blue furry one. Nightcrawler felt every single hair on his body stand straight up.

"Yes, exactly. With-holding information is not lying." He replied stiffly, swallowing hard.

"Maybe, but from another point of view it's lying without saying anything." She retorted, slipping her other arm around his lower back. If he wasn't so completely overwhelmed at the moment, he would've teleported away the instant he felt her touch.

"I-I suppose, but it's better than actually speaking lies." He stammered stiffly.

"True, but the truth is best." Kitty whispered into his sensitive ear. Nightcrawler's brain seemed to have ceased almost all function. All he could think about was how good it felt to have her touch him again.

"Kätzchen." He choked weakly.

She said not a word, only moved so close to him that she was practically in his lap. The hand that held his began to softly rub the fur there sending warm tingles racing up his arm and throughout his body. She rubbed her cheek against his fuzzy one and Nightcrawler found himself unable to pull away. He felt her hand that rested on his back drift down lower and lower until it reached the base of his tail. The instant she began to play with that, he was completely at her mercy. Whether or not she knew how sensitive his tail was did not matter, she touch had exactly the same effect regardless of her knowledge. He began to purr like a blue, over-grown house cat and he couldn't stop.

In one tiny corner of his mind that still had some power of independent thought, he realized exactly what she was doing. She was using his own love and affection for her against him. His own heart, body, and soul was now beyond his full control. With a little more careful manipulation she would be able to make him tell her anything she wanted. Vaguely he was aware of what the others were doing. Jean, Remy, and Piotr were all kept busy holding Bobby back from physically attacking him while Logan sat by looking distinctly unhappy. Kitty had planned all this perfectly. She had cleared everything with everyone but Bobby because she knew he would never go along with it, and that left the rest of them to hold him back while she worked. The world had turned against him and he knew that he was doomed.

"Now, just who are you exactly?" She breathed in his ear, abruptly stopping the heavenly stroking.

"Please, please stop this." He gasped.

"Why?" She demanded in a low, cold voice.

"You don't want to know." He replied, feebly trying to free herself from her grip.

"Yes, I most certainly do." She hissed.

"Nein." He choked, almost sobbing.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"You-you'll be so mad at me, and so sad. Please stop asking." He begged.

"Why will I be mad at you for telling me who you are? Why would I be sad?" She asked firmly.

"Y-you just will!" He weakly cried, trying to squirm free.

"How do you know that I'll be mad? I could be very happy." She challenged.

"No, you'll be mad, very mad." He whimpered.

"Hm, exactly how mad will I be?" She asked curiously.

"Worse than anything." He gasped.

"Give me an example." She commanded.

"W-worse than…than when your cousins stole Lockheed and claimed that they threw it in the fire and then you found out that they really didn't." He spat out the first incident that came to his mind.

And that was his mistake. He knew it the instant that the words left his lips. Her expression become very pale and still and her grip failed. Nightcrawler clumsily leapt just out of everyone's reach as he struggled to get himself back in control, not that it would do him much good. Every single eye in camp, Lockheed, the real live dragon included, followed his every movement. He'd said something that he wasn't supposed to know, something that only he and Kitty knew. From his 'safe' distance he watched her expression change from blank shock to horrified understanding and finally to anger.

"Kurt Wagner you miserable bastard." She hissed with a fiery glare. Numbly, the blue furry demon leaned back against a tree trunk and buried his head in his three fingered hands.

"I am in so much trouble…"