disclaimer: Except Jenny, all characters are the property of Marvel. I expect no monetary benefit from this work of fiction which is for entertainment purposes only.

pre-note: This story takes place during chapter 20 of "Human and the Demon".

The First Dance
by Dizi

At some unknown signal, Kurt stood and held his hand out to Jenny. "Come, now ve dance."

Letting out a little laugh, she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet, and said, "My favorite part of the day."

His eyes twinkled at her as he teased, "I zhink zhere is a chance I can change your mind about zat. Later."

She was about to tease back when she looked around and stopped abruptly. "Why are we the only ones getting up?"

With a puzzled expression, Kurt explained, "It is ze first dance. Ve dance ze first one togethzer."

"I know we dance the first together, but I didn't know we were the only ones." There was a touch of panic in her voice. "I thought other people would be dancing too."

"Zhey vill." He tugged on her hand. "First ve dance alone, zhen everyone else joins in."

"I don't know most of these people, Kurt. I don't want to make a spectacle in front of them." she explained, refusing to budge.

"Ve dance in front of people all ze time," he pointed out reasonably. He put an arm around her waist and guided her to the middle of the dance floor.

"It's not the same." she protested. The music started and for once she had no idea what song it was nor did she care. She ducked her head so as not to see the strangers surrounding her, knowing they were watching.

"Just pretend ve are in ze kitchen," he suggested, not really understanding what was wrong.

But she remained stiff in his arms. Eventually, misery evident, Jenny said softly, "I'm sorry, I just can't."

Looking at her face intensely, he stopped moving, then smiled. Usually they were alone or with his teammates whom she had known much longer than him. It was rare to see her in crowds except at work where she felt comfortable, so she wasn't often in a situation where she was with strangers. He had forgotten how shy she could be.

"Close your eyes." He waited while she gave him a suspicious look before complying. Kneeling down, he lifted the hem of the long skirt of her wedding dress.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "People are watching."

"How do you know? Your eyes are closed." he said in amusement.

When he lifted her foot, Jenny gasped, reaching blindly for his shoulders to steady herself. "I can hear them whispering."

"It is your imagination." he countered, though he too could hear them and knew there were laughing eyes watching. He just didn't care. Besides, he was about to cause even more whispering. He wanted them both to enjoy their first dance as husband and wife.

"Zhese are very pretty shoes," he murmured, wondering how to take them off.

"Jean found them. She has some kind of thing for shoes."

"Ve vill get her giftcards at shoe stores for Christmas." he muttered distractedly, finally finding the clasp under both a bow and a tie. Removing the shoe, he tossed it over his shoulder, uncaring where it landed. He grinned as he heard scrambling behind him.

Jenny gripped his shoulders tighter when he set her foot down on the cold floor and picked up the other one. "Kurt, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, geliebt." He made quick work of the second shoe and tossed it in a different direction. "Keep your eyes closed and do not move."

He teleported away and back within seconds, not giving her a chance to protest his leaving her alone and barefoot on a dance floor in front of a room full of people.

The song changed and became louder, drowning out the whispers which had seemed to be echoing in her ears. Once again, she was so nervous she didn't pay attention to what song it was.

"Do you remember ze first time ve danced?" he asked. "Everyone had just left and ve vere just beginning to know one anothzer."

"Me smelling of cleansers and wearing ratty bleach stained clothes." she smiled.

"You vere beautiful. I vill not get out ze cleaning supplies, but do you remember ze feel of ze floor under your barefeet? Ze song playing over and over vhen I held you in my arms for ze first time?"

"Yes," she whispered. Helped by the same song playing now - "Hold my Hand" by Hootie and the Blowfish - Jenny became lost in the memory, making her surroundings fade away.

"Open your eyes," Kurt said softly.

When she did, the only thing she saw, all she was aware of, was Kurt holding his hand out to her the same way he had that night.

"Come, dance vith me. You like to dance. Dance vith me," he repeated, still holding out his hand.

Her heart pounding, just like in the memory, she slowly stepped forward and took it. He pulled her into his arms and they danced slowly, as perfectly and wonderfully as ever, looking into each other's eyes.

As the song came to an end, Jenny remembered where they were and started to pull away.

"Nein, " Kurt whispered in her ear as the song started again. "It does not end."

He pulled her closer and Jenny laid her head on his shoulder, once again giving herself completely to the moment.

The song came to the end for the second time and she lifted her head. "The others will grow impatient. Aren't we supposed to dance with other people?"

Kurt lifted a hand and touched her face. "Do you care, liebchen?"

Her heart jumped as it always did when he called her by his variety of endearments. She knew now it was true, she was his sweetheart, darling, beloved, and so on. It made the effects of his words so much stronger than they had originally been. "No, I don't."

Slowly, he lowered his head, gently touched his lips to hers. Just a brief touch, a promise of things to come later that night.

Eyes drifting closed, Jenny felt him slide his cheek against hers in his established habit. She felt the velvety softness of his skin and shuddered as usual, just as he wanted her to. She slid her face down to the curve of his neck and snuggled there in her favorite position.

Exactly where she belonged.

Swaying together, lost in the music and each other, steeped in their memories, they continued dancing.

note:
Unfortunately, we're no longer allowed to answer reviews in text. I obviously love reviews, good or bad, and respond to them enthusiastically. So, if you would like a response, please login or leave an e-mail address. Thank you.

The next one will take place during the wedding as well. Then, it's on to incidents later on..

I'm hard at work on the next story, and will hopefully start posting that one in January, and I'm still working on short-stories for this one. I have three done, one in my notebook, and plans for at least two more. So you'll still be seeing Jenny and Kurt for a while.

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi