A/N: It gets slightly fluffy in this chapter. Ok, very fluffy. I also don't know Amanda's mother's name, so I just used the one Tails suggested. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Spiderman stopped just in front of Mary Jane. He was dreading this part- the fussing. She would remind him even more of Aunt May.
"Peter!" M.J screamed "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?"
Peter sighed and turned to her.
"I'm fine; I just want to go home." He lied. His arm hurt like anything but he wanted to get out of there before Black Cat arrived. After that he knew he wouldn't be able to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Psylocke and Torch arrive.
"Er… Hang on a sec M.J, I need to talk to someone." He said and ran off.
"Hey Psylocke?" He asked.
"Yeah Spidey?" She replied.
" Would you meet me tomorrow if you're still in town? You know, just to catch up on things?" Spidey was aware of how strange this sounded and of Torch's displeasure but he had a sudden urge to ask her that and Psylocke didn't seem to mind.
"Yeah, sure." She replied. He grinned and ran back to M.J.
"What was that about?" She asked sharply, the last thing she needed was Peter introducing her to another female mutant she could get jealous about. Peter looked at her questioningly.
"M.J? Are you alright?" Mary Jane sighed. Of course she was fine, she hadn't just spent the entire evening feeling totally inadequate whilst he went off with that 'Black Cat' woman, had she?
"M.J? If I upset you you can tell me." No she couldn't. He'd just get mad and she'd just embarrass herself in front of his friends.
"No Peter, I'm fine, let's just go home."
Amanda was still sat on the steps over an hour later and was debating whether to give in and leave or not when the institute doors opened. Finally! She thought. This would be amusing. Kurt would not have a clue how to respond to her. He was cute when he was confused, if you ignored the blue fur. But as Kurt entered the room, she noticed that nearly every mutant in the place was crowding round him.
"Time for caring girlfriend act." She muttered to herself, running over to Kurt.
"Kurt!" She shouted, pushing past various freaks to reach him. Unfortunately, one of the 'freaks' stuck long, metal claws in front of her face.
"Who are you?" They demanded angrily, putting themselves between her and Kurt.
"I-I'm Kurt's g-girlfriend." She stammered. "I want to know what happened." The man, she thought he was called Logan, shook his head.
"He's not hurt." He replied, moving out of the way. It was then that Amanda got a huge shock. In Kurt's arms lay an unconscious Katherine Pryde. He moved her hair out of the blood that was beginning to congeal on her forehead with such tenderness that it was that, more than anything else that she had seen that night which made Amanda acutely uneasy.
The next day, Peter Parker refused Mary Jane's offer of lunch and ran off to meet Psylocke. Luckily for him, she was not difficult to find. They sat down on a bench in the park with some sandwiches and proceeded to 'catch up'.
"So what did you want to talk about?" She asked, "I know you didn't want to just chat." Peter sighed.
"Ever feel like you've totally messed up your life?" He asked finally.
"What have you done?"
"Got married." Psylocke jumped off the bench.
"You still love Cat! Don't you?" She shrieked. Peter nodded sadly.
"Yeah. I kinda only married M.J to take my mind off Cat." Psylocke was stunned.
" Being a telepath, you'd think I'd have seen that coming. Watcha gonna do about it?" She questioned, excitedly. Now it was Peter's turn to be stunned.
"What do you mean, what am I gonna do? I can't do anything."
"Of course you can, you just need to figure things out."
"Explain." He demanded. Psylocke shrugged.
"I don't know yet. If I work something out I'll be in touch. Now we've got that sorted I- oh my gosh…" She said, dissolving into helpless giggles.
"What?" Peter demanded.
"I just remembered something that I thought about last time I was at the institute. You remember Kurt, don't you?" Peter nodded. "Well he's got this girlfriend and you can tell he's not happy about it, although he pretends he is. He also has a crush on someone else, but I won't reveal who, 'coz that would be mean. You just really reminded me of him." Peter sighed.
"It wouldn't happen to be Kitty, would it?"
"What- Kurt's crush? That's for me to know and you to stress over. See you round Spidey."
"Hey, how you feeling?" Mary Jane asked as her husband re-entered their house. He looks so sad. She thought to herself, going over to hug him. To her surprise, he pushed her away.
"Look M.J, I'm not having a great time at the moment. I had a pretty rough night, my arm kills and a load of my friends got injured as well…" He trailed off as a thought hit him… injured … Cat!
"Oh yes, your 'friends'." Mary Jane replied, her voice sharp and sarcastic. Peter stared.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded, glaring at her.
"Nothing."
"If it was nothing you wouldn't have said it." He answered angrily. She ignored him and stormed out the door, heading in the direction of her aunt's house. Peter sighed and closed the door behind her. Just as he did so, the phone rang.
"Parker! Where you been? You're over an hour late. Now get your ass to the Bugle before I fire you!" Peter hung up; he couldn't be bothered to make his excuses to Jameson. Looked like he would have to drop by the Bugle before he could visit Cat.
Kurt was woken by his name being shouted, extremely loudly. He sighed, and regretfully swung himself out of bed. Except he wasn't in bed. He was curled up in a chair next to a bed. Wondering how that had happened, he went over to the bed to see who occupied it. When he saw Kitty lying there, deathly pale, memories flooded back to him. He had seen her fighting Lance, seen her trying to use the power she didn't know how to control and had caught her as she collapsed onto the floor. Then Amanda had turned up inside the institute. Logan had brushed her off, let Kurt come up here and… then he couldn't remember. He supposed he must have fallen asleep while he was waiting to see how Kitty was.
The shouts of his name were intensifying. Scott poked his head round the door.
"It's alright Jean, I've found him." He called. "So, you crashed in here last night?" He queried, turning to Kurt, who nodded.
"Ja, guess so."
"Well it's not really much of a surprise, considering how protective you were of Kitty last night."
"I vas?"
"You wouldn't let anyone else touch her." Kurt blushed.
"Oh. Ist sie ok?" Scott nodded. She regained consciousness early this morning, and is sleeping naturally now." Kurt didn't look convinced.
"She looks too pale." Scott put his hands on Kurt's shoulders and steered him out of the room.
"Sorry Kurt, the professor reckons that you'd be better off at school today."
"Kurt! Kurt!" Shrieked Amanda, running over to the table he was sat at with Bobby and Jubilee. Bobby groaned and turned to Kurt apologetically.
" Sorry Kurt but… er… I have to… er… like… er… getoutofherereallyquickly." He stammered, picking up his bag and practically running over to sit with Scott, who looked concerned for Bobby's mental health. Jubilee also made her excuses and followed him, albeit more sedately. Kurt considered doing the same, but figured Amanda would just follow him anyway, so he stayed put.
"Kurt what happened last night?" She demanded. Boy, he looks rough. She thought to herself.
"Look Amanda, I'm not having a great time at zhe moment. I don't need you qvestioning me about it. My best friend got injured last night because of zhat durmkopff over zhere and…" He trailed off as he thought of Kitty. He wondered how she was and whether she was awake yet.
"Oh yeah, your 'friend', that you carried so lovingly last night." Amanda replied, her voice intentionally sharp and sarcastic. I wonder how he's taking this. She thought gleefully.
"Vat's zhat supposed to mean?" Kurt demanded, glaring at her.
"Nothing." Amanda replied, feigning anger and storming out of the canteen. Kurt sighed and walked over to Scott and Jean's (and now Bobby's and Jubilee's) table. Just as he did so, the bell rang.
"Physics and I.T next." Jubilee moaned. "Come on, we're late for class." Kurt followed her dumbly. Two more hours of lessons till he could see Kitty.
Spiderman finished off at the Bugle and raced out the door, heading for the college. This was the only place he could think of that Cat might be. She would know better than to check into a hospital, how would you explain three large scratches down your back without anyone discovering you secret? No, she would have gone to Doctor Connors. Fortunately for him, he didn't need to go that far.
"Felicia!" He exclaimed, seeing a familiar, blonde haired figure coming down the road, away from the college.
"Peter!" She cried back. "What are you doing here? I mean, I thought you'd finished classes at the college."
"Yeah, I have, I was coming to check up on friends." He replied. His voice was deliberately casual but he was looking at her pointedly.
"Oh. Would you like to go for a drink or something then?"
"Sure."
"Great. Come on!"
A few minutes later they were sat in a coffeehouse, talking quickly and in hushed tones. Felicia was idly stirring her drink, waiting for Peter to come back from the toilet, when a vaguely familiar old woman walked in and took the table next to her. Felicia was still trying to figure out whom she was, when Peter came back.
"So Doctor Connors fixed you up then?"
"Yeah. And then I left and ran into you and… well you know the rest." She finished with a laugh. "But Peter, do you know that woman over there? I think I do, I just can't remember where I've seen her and…" She trailed off as Peter had stopped listening to her. "Peter?"
"Yeah Felicia, I know that woman. Boy do I know that woman. Her name is Anna Watson. She's M.J's aunt.
Anna Watson entered the coffeehouse. She didn't normally go to this kind of place. She preferred to sit and drink her coffee at home, but she was dyeing of thirst. As she sat down, she thought that the girl at the table next to her looked oddly familiar. Blonde, pretty… not as pretty as her Mary Jane though. Well obviously, no one was. Poor Mary Jane. She'd come home in a terrible state, upset about that good- for – nothing husband of hers, Peter Parker. Hang on, wasn't that Peter now? Yes, it was. He was walking over to the table that girl was sat at. She heard the name 'Felicia'. Felicia… hmm… Felicia… Felicia Hardy! That girl who Mary Jane knew from high school. She and Peter seemed friendly. Rather too friendly for her liking, actually. Well, it wouldn't hurt if she listened in a bit, would it, not if it was to help Mary Jane. Because she would be wouldn't she? Finding out what Peter thought he was up to. Hang on, if she leaned out a bit, she could just catch what they were saying.
"I was really worried about you last night Felicia." Peter was saying. Right! She didn't like the sound of that one bit. Mary Jane had mentioned that they went out with some of Peter's friends last night, and that was what had sparked the argument they'd had this morning, but this…?
"I know Peter." She was replying softly. Now she was reaching over the table and – what was that! She was grasping his hand tightly. Holding hands! In public view? This was outrageous! She definitely should carry on watching. This was vital to her niece's marriage!
"I really don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Peter was continuing. The nasty piece of work.
"I do." Felicia replied bitterly. "You'd go back to your nice little home with Mary Jane and grieve for me quietly. Pretending you didn't care. And pretty soon that would become reality."
"That's not true!" Peter was shouting now.
Well of all the nerve! He was the one that had asked her niece to marry him. If he cared for this girl so much, why hadn't he married her instead? And how dare that young floozy talk about her Mary Jane. Ooh, hang on, they were talking again.
"That's not true." Peter repeated. Only this time he was quiet. "I love you. I can't believe I'm saying this in a coffee shop but I love you. I love you more than I could ever love Mary Jane or ever have…"
Well that was it! She couldn't bear to listen to this anymore. Anna was getting out of there and telling Mary Jane at once!
Kurt finished up at school and raced out of the building, heading for the institute. He hoped that Kitty was feeling better. To his surprise, she was sat on the steps, waiting for him.
"Kitty!" He exclaimed. "Vat are you doing out here?"
"Beast, like, fixed me up already."
"Oh. Zhat's gut."
"Yeah. So do you, like want to go out for a drink or something?"
"Ok. You sure you'll be alright?"
"Ya, come on fuzzy!"
A few minutes later they were sat inside K. F. C, talking excitedly and happily. Kitty was sat, chewing on ice, waiting for Kurt to come back from the toilet, when a vaguely familiar woman in her mid- thirties walked in and took the table next to her. Kitty was still trying to figure out whom she was when Kurt came back.
"Hey fuzzy?" She asked. "Who's that woman over there? ' Coz she looks familiar to me but I don't know… Kurt?"
"Ja Kitty, I know zhat woman. She's Amanda's mutant- hating mutter."
Finola Sefton walked into K .F. C. She didn't normally go to this type of place. It was too noisy, and the kids in there were far inferior to her Amanda, but today she was dyeing of hunger. As she sat down, she thought that the girl at the next table looked oddly familiar. Dark haired, quite attractive… not as attractive as her Amanda though. Well obviously, no one was beautiful enough to compare with her.
Poor Amanda. She'd come home today in a terrible mood, and, though she hadn't said so, Finola was sure it was to do with that freak of a boyfriend Kurt Wagner. Hang on, wasn't that Kurt now? Yes it was, going over to the table next to her. The one with the girl sat at it. She heard the name Kitty. Kitty… hmm…. Katherine Pryde! Another freak from the institute. Amanda had told her that everyone there was a – a mutant. She shuddered at the thought of it. Mutants at the same school as her precious daughter! It was unthinkable. But still, Amanda continued in that stupid relationship with Kurt. For heaven's sake, the kid was blue! Of course, not being one to gossip, she'd kept that to herself. But what was Kurt doing in K. F. C. with another girl? They seemed friendly. Of course, it could just be platonic, but knowing what kind of low – life scum Kurt was, it seemed unlikely.
Maybe if she leaned out, she could hear what they were saying. It wouldn't hurt, would it? Not if she was helping Amanda. Which she would be. Finding out what that boy who called himself her boyfriend was up to. Yes! She could hear.
" I vas sehr vorried letzes nacht Katzechen." Kurt was saying.
Right! Finola didn't like the sound of that, even if she could only guess at some of the words. That was another thing. He was German! Germans were no good as well.
"Ya, fuzzy, I'm like, really sorry about that. I mean, I, like, had to get away from Lance. It was stupid of me, I knew I didn't know how to control that power."
How dare they! Talking about 'powers' and such in front of normal people.
"I know Kitty. I just saw you collapse und zen, you vere unconscious and I vas scared. I- I couldn't bear it iv somesing happened to you."
The dirty slimeball!
"Aww Kurt." She was replying. Now she was leaning over the table and – what was that! She had just kissed him on the cheek! And he was blushing! Definitely not platonic then. Finola thought she had seen enough of this. Amanda deserved to know and she was going to tell her right now.
A/N: Thanks to Bubba Hyde, Kriszty, mattb3671, Mrs Louisa Radcliffe, and otak the Canadian for reviewing. Thanks also to the people who answered my questions. But- none of you got Spidey's movie quote! It was 'find that happy place' and the movie was Shark Tale. P.S: Does anyone know who Stix89 is?