Kurt and Kassandra entered Gregor's private banquet room to find Warren fussing over Lucy's insistence on examining his wings.
"I'm not hurt badly, and your mother can check for herself," he said.
"Nonsense," interjected Dr. Altheim. "I may be a medical doctor, but I've never worked on wing injuries."
"I, on the other hand, have," said Lucy. "And Warren, you should know me better than to think I'd mistake you for some martial eagle."
"Jackass penguin might be more like it," said Kassandra, with a merry little smirk. "And you flew about as well as one after Toad got a hold of you."
So Warren begrudgingly relented, but was thankful to hear he'd sustained nothing worse than the loss of several flight feathers and a strained humeral joint- "The avian one, of course," Lucy clarified. "And I'm amazed you weren't hurt worse. That must have been some fight you were in."
"And you all should have seen it!" said Kurt.
"Actually," said Kassandra, interrupting before Kurt could mention anything about what she'd done, "I'm rather glad they didn't."
And so they spent a short but otherwise remarkably pleasant evening. Very little else was said about the trial, though the subject was very much on everyone's mind, threatening to cast a pall over the evening. Instead, they talked about everything from the latest cute things Michael's children said, to a certain orphaned cheetah Lucy recently tagged and released into the wild, to Dr. Altheim's most recent visit to the kraal where her own mother was raised, to the quality of the food, which was excellent due to the chef's enhanced senses of taste and smell. There was laughter in retelling the story of the first time Vincent tried to play soccer in his full Franciscan habit and sandals, and bickering, as when Warren shocked the Altheim women by insisting Kassandra should not pick up the tab.
"Warren," said Dr. Altheim, "if a Zulu woman offers you a pint of beer, you accept it. And if Kassandra wants to pay for dinner, you have to accept that!"
"Especially since this was my idea anyway, even if Jack suggested the place," Kassandra added.
After that was settled, Kassandra really did not want to leave. But she was a bit tired after the events of the day and could not be bothered to stretch out the moment. All agreed that it would be best if they retired for the evening, and Kurt saw Kassandra home, supposedly just in case trouble arose.
"But you don't really expect any trouble, nicht wahr?" said Kurt.
"Eigentlich, nein," said Kassandra, mischievously.
"Hätte ich auch nicht gedacht," said Kurt, gently squeezing her shoulder. And so they continued walking like that, by Kassandra's new parish, the salle where she'd tried to get in some occasional fencing practice, all the places of interest on their way back to her apartment.
"So I knew you were spying on Black Air, but I didn't know you were actually in the Hellfire Club. Could you tell me more about that?" asked Kurt.
"There isn't much to say, Liebster," Kassandra replied. "Hanging around a bunch of power mad snobs and scantily clad Barbie dolls, that was the least exciting part of my mission. If I were into that sort of thing, I would have gone to Yale and joined Skull and Bones."
"Wirklich?" said Kurt, amazed. "Actually, I was wondering about how well you followed their dress code."
"Wouldn't you like to know," said Kassandra, blushing.
"So this is a bit of a long walk. Why didn't you get a place in the mutant district?" Kurt asked, as they walked down the steps to her porch. "Wasn't there any housing available there?"
"Nein," said Kassandra. "Not that it would make that much of a difference if there was. We didn't work so hard to overcome one kind of apartheid just so I could impose another upon myself."
Kurt chuckled as he lightly brushed her lips with his. "Das ist mein Mädchen! So, I hope you don't mind me bringing up the trial, but-"
He felt her stiffen just enough to know he had to watch what he said.
"- the Director said you were good at avoiding compromising situations. Does that mean what I think it does?" he asked.
Kassandra fumbled with her key before opening the door and letting herself in. "Kurt, du bist unmöglich. I suppose you'd like to put me in one, nicht wahr?"
Her efforts to be funny notwithstanding, Kurt could tell she was becoming quite agitated.
"Well, theoretically speaking at least," Kurt smiled, taking Kassandra in his arms and leaning in for another, more ardent kiss.
"Ich liebe dich, Kurt," said Kassandra, returning his kiss, then extricating herself from his embrace. "Gute nacht."
She quickly shut and locked the door, then fell back upon it, holding her fingers to her lips, tears streaming down her face.
"Du wißt, ich kann nicht dir verlaßen jetzt," said Kurt, teleporting in and now crouching before her. "I was joking about compromising situations. Well, kind of. At any rate, it's far too early for you to begin solitary confinement."
