Author's Note: For sake of storytelling let's assume that Margali made a big progress in english so that I don't need to write the story around the idea that Kurt must translate back and forth between Fallen and his mother. It would serve little purpose and would just make it annoying.
Also I'm writing this in scorching hot summer and thus feel uninspired, so consider this chapter a draft for when I get the vibe for Christmas spirit.
Christmas.
It's the busy and cold time of the year when people either are- or pretend to be happy for the sake of the show. Lawyers, housewives, news stand employees, parents, the homeless – can't say that every single person celebrates it, but what I know for sure is that everybody's somehow affected by Christmas. Whether it's hurrying with wrapping gifts and cleaning and cooking, or getting and giving days off for holiday, or just being treated kinder, you can't get away from being affected.
Because Christmas, you see, is something you can't run away from. You'll be constantly reminded about it by commercials, people wishing you Merry Christmas instead of just saying Goodbye, Christmas related movies dominating your local Cinema, and Christmas themes in every single window shop or market you'll step into. There's no escape.
And then there's Fallen.
The second the Winter Recess began she hopped into her room hoping that the memory of her existence will somehow vaporize from everybody's awareness for the next two weeks. She knew nobody will let her just nestle in her room quietly until New Year's Eve but at least for a moment she wanted to forget it's not an option.
And it worked, at first. After the last day of school she dropped her bag and put all the school materials into a closet, planning on not seeing them again for the rest of the year. Now there was time to finally finish the book she started over a month ago after finding it in the Institute's library. She ended up so hooked that before she realized it was already past eight in the evening.
That's when she was distracted from reading by someone opening the door of her room and she heard Kurt's voice; "I know Santa Claus is the main hero of this event, but how about a christmas elf instead?"
She frowned confused as she looked up at the boy who leaned against the frame. Him not teleporting made her conclude he must be quite fresh out of the shower, since the smell of sulfur would stick if his fur was still at all damp. However that hardly explained why was he shirtless or wearing a red Santa hat.
Fallen chuckled with amusement and put her book down, slipping a piece of paper in to mark where she left off. "Now that's a tempting offer. Come here, Christmas Elf."
Kurt didn't need to be told twice as he hopped onto the bed beside her going for a kiss and instantly having her lay down with their hands entwined just above her head. For a moment they just enjoyed this sweet moment ignoring the open door, until they heard Evan's voice; "Get a room!" he cringed as he walked by.
"We are in one!" Fallen, amused, called back even though Daniels was already a few good feet away from the door.
Kurt snorted at this short conversation as the girl used her free hand to fix his Santa Hat because its fluffy tip slipped onto the boy's face and started getting into her own eye. Wagner looked into her eyes with the warmest smile and out of blue he asked; "Come with me to Germany for Christmas."
The girl's smile turned into confusion and then realization. "Kurt, I…" she seemed almost cornered as she slowly crawled back from underneath him to sit up. "I'm not a Christmas kind of person, you know that…"
"I know, and that's fine" he still laid down but shifted closer to comfortably take a hold of her hand in her laps. "But this time is different, alright?"
"And how is it any different?" she asked in a tired, skeptical voice.
"My mom is here for one" he smirked at her half heartedly. Fallen's attitude softened. "And the people who made you dislike Christmas are not."
The girl dropped her head with a grimace. "It's not just people, Kurt" she said in a lowered but firm voice. "I hate everything based on any cult, I'm fed up with all this religious propaganda. As if people who celebrate all those events know the last bit about their religions and how full of bullshit they are. It makes me sick to the bottom of my stomach to see so much ignorance-"
"Fall, Fall…" Wagner sat up lifting one hand to stop her monologue. "Forget about religion for a moment, think of Christmas as of time to unite and become a better person."
Seeing how the girl seemed unconvinced her added softly;
"Look, I'm not trying to convert you, I just want to spend nice winter holiday with two of the most important women in my life. So can we skip your moral objections towards religion and just enjoy the winter recess? In Germany?"
The girl kept looking at him for a moment before she eventually exhaled with defeat. "Fine."
Wagner's face lit up with an instant grin and he got up. "Awesome! We can take off tomorrow afternoon, I'll go pack up right away!" with that cheerful exclaimer he planted a quick kiss on her forehead and teleported to what she supposed would be his room.
The girl shook her head with another sigh. "And here I got myself into the very event I tried to avoid."
Episode 6.5: CHRISTMAS INTERLUDE
+JFK Airport, Queens, NYC, 23rd December 1995, Saturday+
"There's too many people" Fallen had a slight grimace as she watched tons of passerby's swarming in every direction.
"It's the time of the year, you know" Kurt said, he on the other hand seeming amused.
"Or one more reason for me to HATE this time of the year" the girl muttered crossing her arms as she shifted back to dive into back of her chair. She turned her face to the boy sitting on the chair to her left. "Why are you still wearing that hat anyway?"
Wagner lifted his brows and for a moment seemed to wonder whether there's something wrong with wearing a Santa Hat. "Because I like it?"
The girl exhaled holding back from rolling her eyes.
"Do you want one too?"
"No."
Kurt's enthusiasm was short lived, though he did know Fallen would be a bit grumpy when forced among big groups of people around Christmas. But he also knew it'd be better once they touch down and leave the crowded airport, so he still looked pretty pleased as he turned his eyes to the information board. Just as he noticed their flight's status a voice in the speakers passed on the news first;
"Passengers of flight 703 to Munich, Germany, are requested to check in at the gate number 16."
"That's us" Kurt got up and offered Fallen his hand.
"Yey" the girl cheered sarcastically, although she did feel happy that they're moving on from sitting here among the crazy crowd. Taking a hold of the boy's hand she followed him towards the gate.
They didn't say much on the way, just trying to quickly get to the right places and not get crushed or kicked out of the line. After getting out of the building they were instructed into a bus that transported them to the foot of a white Boeing with a red AirBerlin logo on the side.
Fallen could hear some German-spoken conversations among the people gathered and the staff that checked their tickets and guided into the craft also spoke German. She continued to hear mostly German chit-chat as they made it to their seats and settled down.
"We haven't even left New York yet and I feel like we're already in Munich" she said in a lowered voice as if her remark could be offensive.
"I'm afraid that'll need another 13 hours or so" with a smile he closed the arm rest between them to earn a bit more of comfortable space for themselves.
xXx
It was 12 and a half hour into the flight, and they had long enough of sleeping, snacking, staring out the window and trying to stay comfortable in this cramped space. They basically looked forward to touching down already, as so did all passengers and stewardesses walking by offering snacks to those few who remained awake.
About two hours ago, Kurt opened the desktop attached to the seat in front of him and pulled out his sketchbook and pencils from their handheld luggage. He's been sketching out some ideas inspired by dreams he had while napping earlier on, meanwhile Fallen rested against his shoulder reading the last quarter of Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz.
Finally the pilot's voice sounded in the speakers informing the passengers that they're about to land and flight attendants standing on either end of the isle started to demonstrate how to properly buckle up.
Having done so Fallen continued to read. She finished the chapter just as they were told it's okay to unbuckle and leave the aircraft. The girl looked up at Wagner who smiled at her, she then proceeded to put her book in a leather bag she had placed on the floor. Kurt's sketchbook and pencil followed right after and they got up.
"My legs feel dead after so many hours of sitting" Fallen said to Wagner as he fell a tight step behind her when all the passengers were led to the airport's building in a cluster that flight attendants tried to keep within the red lines painted on each side of the 'walking area'.
The group scattered when they entered the building, everyone following arrows along the wide corridor on their own pace.
Fallen looked back and lingered so Kurt would level his walk with her. If he also experienced similar numbness in his limbs, he definitely didn't look like it. A smile played softly on his lips and grew wider when their eyes met.
"I'll carry it, come on" he wiggled his fingers a bit towards the leather bag she had across her arm.
Fallen shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You can take the luggage we still have to pick up."
"Fair enough."
But before they could get that far they needed to wait in a linge with almost a hundred people before them. Fallen sighed and opened her mouth to say something but then stopped before picking up;
"I was almost going to say you should call your mom to say it'd take a while."
"You keep forgetting this is 1995" Wagner shook his head with light amusement.
"Right?" she sighed and ran her gaze along the swirling line of arrivals.
"Don't worry, she knows it'll take a while before we get out of here" Kurt waved it off wrapping the other arm around her shoulders.
And it did take almost 40 minutes - which was still less than Fallen expected - until Kurt's finally-acquired german documents and Fallen's american passport were checked in and a 90-day visiting perm was issued to the girl.
Finally they were able to pick up their luggage from the carousel which also took almost a dozen of minutes, and they emerged onto the grand hall of the airport. Many people clustered around waiting to greet arrivals, at this point both of them couldn't wait to get out of this crowded place. They kept close to each other not to get separated as they looked around in search for Margali.
Finally Kurt spotted her and nudged Fallen, gesturing with his head in the direction of a short, older woman waving at them. Pulling the luggage along they emerged onto the small clearing where she waited for them, only to immediately wrap Kurt in a tight embrace the moment he let go of the bags. The two of them exchanged a few excited sentences in german, causing Fallen to hover behind awkwardly.
But in just a short moment Wagner stepped aside encouraging her to come closer with gesture of his hand. Margali smiled at her and waited for nothing before wrapping her in a hug not unlike the one she gave her son. "It is good to see you again, dear" she said in a heavily accented english.
A little surprised - pleasantly so - the girl smiled back. "You also. I see you've been studying too."
The woman chuckled and tipped her head slightly before clapping her hands. "Ok, we go car now!"
Getting the point with no issues the two teens picked their belongings and followed Margali onto the parking lot. Kurt was right at her side giving a german-spoken monologue, and all Fallen could gather was that he basically explained how the travel went and how excited he is for Christmas and to be home for a bit. Either way he wouldn't stop talking until all their luggage was on the backseat and it was time to get into the car themselves.
That was when he turned to Fallen and asked; "You want to sit in the front or in the back?"
"I'll be happy to stay in the back" she assured already making her way to the back door.
Seatbelts clicked in place and Margali started the engine while Kurt still seemed to have a ton to say, reminiscent and share with his mother. Fallen ended up enjoying the fact that she's not being dragged into the conversation, and it was nice to just sit back and watch Kurt beam with such joy as he rambled on.
It was until Margali lifted her hand to silence him. "You quiet now" she chuckled. At first Wagner lifted eyebrows at that but then he smiled again as the woman looked in the rear mirror with a smile. "Fallen, do how you travel go?"
"Oh. Um" she shifted uncomfortably. "It was fine."
Not knowing what else to say she just sat there awkwardly as Margali just watched her in the mirror, looking rather curious. Well, she did have the right to be curious of her.
"Tell me more about you, Fallen" the woman said, still smiling.
"About me? Uh" the brunette just took a quick peek at Kurt, who seemed a little amused with her awkwardness. He seemed to have some kind of satisfaction from it due to rarely - if ever - getting to see her feeling awkward. "I, um-... I like martial arts, and um… music…"
'I have no idea what she wants to hear' she thought with frustration. 'But this is going nowhere.'
Fallen wasn't big for small talk, even more so - she hated small talk. And right now there were things bigger than her hobbies that she felt like would be more genuine to talk about.
She shifted closer to slightly lean between the front seats with a deep breath.
"Mrs. Szardos… First of all I just wanted to apologize for never officially coming forth about being in relationship with Kurt. Things were crazy back then and I didn't know how..." she was on loss for words. "How do you say something like that after so long..."
"It's alright, Fallen" Margali chuckled. "I want to learn more about how you two did in your dimension, and to learn more about you, but I feel, I'm- uh" she grimaced and said something in German, then peeked over to Kurt for help.
He smiled and turned to Fallen, "She said she can't be anything but happy for us."
"Oh, yes, I didn't have know how to say that" Margali nodded. "We use english at home, okay? I can't practice in Winzeldorf so I practice when you be here."
xXx
At last the luggage was propped against a wall of the hallway as the three of them removed their snow-sprinkled outwear. "You two need eat" Margali said. "It was a long fly."
"We ate some on the plane" Kurt assured just to calm her, although he was happy to eat again.
"Plane food is not food" the woman shook her head storming into the kitchen. "I made food before leaving to you, I just need make it warm" they heard her assure as some pots clanked over the stove.
Wagner smiled at Fallen and shrugged before peeking in through the door. "We'll bring the bags upstairs, alright?"
"Yes, do that! And heavens, turn off the stupid gadget, Kurt, you are at home" she ordered.
"Yes, mom" Kurt called back shaking his head with a smile as he switched off his inducer and grabbed the 2 bigger suitcases.
Fallen picked up what was left behind - her leather bag and a smaller plastic bag - and followed him upstairs.
"So, um" he turned around when he got to the top of the stairs. "Of course my mom insisted you would sleep in the guest room again, which- I probably shouldn't argue about, so…" he shrugged with a grimace and proceeded to the said room.
Fallen just sighed and dropped her cross-shoulder bag there as well while Wagner slipped the other suitcase into his own bedroom.
xXx
Five minutes later they were eating steaming tomato soup at the kitchen table.
"No christmas tree this year, mom?" Kurt asked after having a look into the living room on the way downstairs.
"They bring tree today evening. I ordered it" the woman informed. "I want you to help decorate it."
So it ended up with Kurt and Fallen being sent to bringing down two boxes of tree decorations from the attic that ended up sitting on the living room floor barely for a few minutes before the doorbell rang and a middle-aged man presented them with a living pine tree that was barely small enough to fit through the door. They spent almost 20 minutes securing it on a special stand and then cleaning up the mess of fallen pines that it left behind.
Then they moved on to decorating, which is a quest that Margali left in hands of the youngsters while she sat down and watched with a smile as they opened the boxes and pulled out many smaller ones containing different baubles made of delicate glass and glitter.
"[Kurt, are you sure about your Professor providing me financial support?]" she asked in german, her face growing more serious. "[I can work, it's really not-]"
"[Mom]" Wagner stopped her as he looked up from the box with a serious grimace. "[Please, we've been over this on the phone. I want you to rest. You've done enough to earn credit that will last you a century, now just enjoy and take care of your needs.]"
Fallen could understand no more than every third word but she caught a whiff of what it's about. Not wanting to interfere though, she just continued to hang the ornamentations as she peeked at them off the corner of her eye.
"[I understand doing this for a short period of time, but it's only right that I return the expenses to Mr Xavier]" Margali insisted, but her son wasn't having it.
"[I'll take care of that myself]" he stated flatly. Hearing the kind of sigh his mother made he looked at her again and approached, carrying two red baubles in each hand. He crouched in front of her. "[Look, you've always taken care of me better than I could ever ask for. Let me return the favor with this arrangement, please, mom?]" he asked softly. "[The Professor didn't want me to get him back the money but I still plan to when I'd have a steady job later in life. It'll be settled. All I ask is that you agree to take this chance and focus on your good, okay?]"
Finally the woman exhaled with defeat. "[...If you really insist that I would.]"
"[I do]" he smiled. "[I love you, mom]" he kissed her on the forehead as he got up.
"[I love you too, son]" she responded watching him return to hang the two ornamentations on the christmas tree.
She saw Fallen look at him questioningly, but whatever she saw on his face apparently confirmed they can carry on because the two teens once again crouched by the boxes to pull more glass balls.
"Also I thought, Kurt" Margali spoke up again, this time switching to english so she can be understood by both of them. "Because you now have this hologram watch, do you and Fallen come to Mitternachtsmesse mit mir?"
Having gotten completely lost towards the end Fallen looked at Kurt in search of some help.
"Midnight mass" he explained to her quickly before smiling in his mother's direction. "I would happily go. But I don't think Fallen will appreciate going to church."
The girl was kind of glad he said it, because now she didn't have to. But that was right, she'd absolutely hate having to participate in any mass and Kurt knew it well enough not to even insist.
"Oh" Margali switched her eyes to the brunette. "You don't like church?"
"No. I'm an atheist" the girl responded cautiously. "I hope it's not a problem… is it?"
The woman's serious face quickly broke into a gentle smile. "Of course not, mein kind. You are welcome to stay if you don't want to come."
"Thank you…"
Kurt smirked at Fallen of the corner of his mouth as if to say he knew his mother would be fine with it. The brunette low key exhaled with relief both for not having to go to the mass and for Margali didn't wage a war against her for not sharing her beliefs.
"I was thinking we could also go to the Weihnachtsmarkt- the Christmas Market in Munich" he explained right away peeking at Fallen briefly as he proceeded to hang tree ornamentations on his tail so he doesn't need to come back for them a million times. "But tomorrow's the last day so it will be probably closing and today is too late" he grimaced slightly but then shrugged it off and got up, a tailful of shimmering balls dangling behind him. "So maybe next year" he marveled as he replaced them onto the tree.
"There's was a small Weihnachtsmarkt here in Winzeldorf too" Margali informed. "If you arrived more early we can have gone."
Wagner shot a glance at his wristwatch. "It's closing now?"
"Ja."
So eventually they stayed in, finished decorating the tree that soon stood proud and heavy with shimmering ornamentations and lights. While they worked Margali asked light questions about their friends at the Institute and Kurt was happy to tell her every interesting as well as every mundane bit of it. Fallen also snuck in a few extra details and laughed along at some of the things he'd mention.
It wasn't until they were done with the tree and putting away the empty boxes that the conversation got a little bit more serious. They moved to the kitchen and Kurt dug out a huge blueberry yoghurt from the back of the fridge. He took two spoonfuls and handed it over to Fallen who - slightly wrapping her arm around the small of his back - happily took one as well when his mother asked;
"Can you tell more about it… You are officially a couple?"
Fallen almost choked on the yoghurt but managed to stop it. Instinctively she removed her hand from the boy's back and side-glanced at him (who wore a similar expression to her own) as she pulled out the spoon from her mouth real slow. Seeing the woman's eyes are lingering more so on her than on Kurt, she responded cautiously;
"Yes, we are…"
"For how long?" she continued asking as Fallen slowly handed the spoon back to Wagner.
"...Five years" it was the boy's turn to answer, however he slightly recoiled as if expecting this information to cause some kind of physical mind blow in his mother.
The woman however arched her brow and looked critically from one to the other. She didn't seem to take it too seriously but also didn't push.
"And you have meet in this other your dimension, Fallen?"
The brunette nodded her head slightly.
"Where did you live? Did you live together?" by the proper grammar they could tell Margali had those questions prepared in advance. Of course, while they both felt uneasy, neither blamed her for asking.
"We moved a lot…" Harris said turning her gaze to Wagner for help.
"Ja, we spent a lot of that time in a forester though" he uttered a faint smile. "And we did live together almost the entire time."
The woman seemed to dig into their souls with her eyes, calculating and weighting their answers for a moment before nodding briefly as if she wanted to say 'I hear you but I don't know if I believe you'. Not that she had any reasons to put her son's honesty in question but it all sounded like a far stretch.
But then again here they are and she never knew about Fallen before that morning in September. It was like he pulled friends and a school offer out of thin air, so time travel maybe wasn't really that much of a stretch.
Whatever the truth, it was good to see him with who so far seemed to be a nice girlfriend. Of course Margali was still determined to keep a close eye on this case like any parent would, maybe even more so due to the fact that in her eyes they were still barely 15 and Kurt was prone to getting his heart broken.
Since silence begin to linger and her thoughts seemed on it grew more obvious, Wagner rested his back against the counter and pulled Fallen closer by the waist as if to assure she's part of the 'inner circle' and not a threat to it in any capacity.
"Mom…" he spoke up with distant look in his golden eyes. "Would you mind if we left home for a little bit tonight? I-... I wanted to visit dad's grave."
At that Fallen's arm forgot to feel odd under Margali's stare and just wound around Kurt's waist. Margali smiled sadly at them and responded with a small nod. "[Of course. You can go while I stay to start preparing some of the food for tomorrow]" she responded in german.
xXx
Two hours later Fallen strolled alone through the alleys of small cemetery at the outskirts of Winzeldorf. The snow covered everything in a thin layer of white, some of it melted off the stones and some of it got mixed with dark brown of the dirt, but accompanied by giant mountains towering the horizon it still managed to produce a dreamlike, although sad image.
She looked around to Kurt standing back to her in another alley, his face angled towards the grave before him and hair slightly swaying on the winter breeze that was very mild due to the valley being protected by the mighty Alpes, like giant guards. She walked between two memorial stones and returned to his side; now she could see the lost-in-thought look in his eyes and how his holographic cheeks flushed slightly from the cold.
After a moment of seemingly being unaware of her presence he drew a slow, deep breath and started talking;
"I often find myself wishing I haven't gone out that day" he said. "I should have listen to my parents when they kept telling me it's not safe to leave the house. But I was never able to give up on exploring but even back when I was 12 I knew I need to be careful… Clearly wasn't being careful enough though."
The brunette shifted her eyes from the profile of his face to the memorial on the ground before them. A simple rounded stone with a silver cross, Kurt's father's name and his date of birth and death. Precisely a month ago was the 3rd anniversary… or 13th as far as Kurt's experience goes.
"When people spotted me and started chasing me thinking I was some kind of- spawn of hell- I didn't think I can make it" the boy continued. "If father hadn't found me it would be me who got stabbed instead."
Despite the sad ring to this story as well as Kurt's voice Fallen already knew that he knew not to blame himself. Looking back at the situation was bound to always hurt, but there was no more carrying blame, even if only for the simple reason that Kurt knew his father loves him and would not regret stepping between him and the mob and would not want him to blame himself for that choice.
Something Fallen brought to his attention shortly after learning the story years ago, back when he couldn't look at it from any other angle than the one where he's to carry the blame for the rest of his life.
She now looked at him like she understood the feelings he was having right now. He hand traveled closer to his own but she left him to decide if he wants to take it right now. He took her up, slipping his fingers between her own, the feeling of being alone dispersing as their palms entwined.
His eyes closed in an attempt to relieve himself from the images and sounds from that day that were pushing to the surface of his memory. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been here at the anniversary…" he whispered low to the ghost in his mind's eye.
"It matters that you're with him in your heart" the girls poke up at long last, her voice lowered to match his own. "No matter where you're at, I'm sure he'd appreciate that you remember."
At that Kurt exhaled with a small, still slightly sad smile. He let go of her hand to wrap his arms around her shoulders instead, pulling her into an embrace he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad you came here with me. It's the closest I can get to introducing you to mein father."
xXx
Later that evening Kurt finally decided to swallow his price and willingly let Fallen browse the photo album that she laid her hands on back when they arrived in September. This time however they settled on the couch together and he proceeded to point out certain pictures, explaining the stories behind them and expressing his thoughts on them.
"This one is probably my favourite from when my parents were younger" he pointed to a black-and-white photography with about 30-year old version of his parents grinning at the camera, wearing big hair and very sparkly outfits complete with roller skates. "It was some 'boogie' thing in a skating park back in the 70s" he snorted. "I can never get this image out of my head."
Fallen laughed along him and proceeded to the next page. This one presented a calmer setting and featured baby Kurt as well, everyone were smiling except for in one photo that seemed to be taken when Hans was really annoyed with trying to feed the baby Kurt.
"Can we go back to the start and not venture into photos of me as a baby please?" Wagner asked as he sunk lower on the couch and let his forehead drop on Fallen's shoulder with embarrassment.
"Although I find your parents very entertaining I'm looking forward to you explaining me a few of the photos of you I saw last time" the girl couldn't help being amused.
Expecting this to be the answer Kurt just exhaled in defeat and slipped his arm behind the small of the girl's back to comfortably settle and brace for the awkward photos.
"By the way" she said softly, her eyes still lingering on the photos of just his parents. "I'm glad to see they seemed really happy together. Such positive people."
The boy smiled to himself, snickering with sad amusement. "
"You know, people expect some kind of cultivists or deformed people for the ones who had raised me" he said. "Some asked for photos and when I'd show them they were disappointed, simply because my parents were just ordinary looking."
"Oh I don't know, they're quite pretty for ordinary people" she responded in a half-joking manner. "I mean your mom's the kind of a woman who looks best without makeup, and your father makes me kind of think of Kurt Cobain. And Kurt Cobain is definitely considered handsome."
"Well, okay, maybe they are pretty good looking for village people. But no second heads, tattooed faces or third eye and everyone acts all surprised."
Fallen blinked at the idea, trying to understand where these people were coming from made her feel anger so she just shook it off. "That just proves them stupid" she stated firmly.
Margali lingered in the doorway as she listened to them unnoticed, now finally she smirked faintly and entered carrying a tray with three steaming cups. "People be very- voreingenommen?"
"Biased" Kurt aided.
"Biased" she finished. "They think everyone need be same as they" she shook her head in disapproval towards the said people as she put down the tray and gestured at two cups of hot chocolate.
Wagner got up from his sunken position against Fallen's shoulder to take one cup, he also handed the other to Fallen who thanked both him and his mother.
"That's very true" she agreed. "I got threatened merely for dressing the way I do, leave alone how people approach cases like Kurt's" she briefly directed a sad smirk at the boy who responded with the same expression before resting against her arm again.
"That's why having places such as the Institute is important" he said tracing his finger around the edge of his cup. "So there's a chance someday everyone who needed to hide can come out of shadows. Go to school, find a job, create a family without having to look over their shoulder all the time."
"That kind of progress is going to take generations" Fallen commented absently.
He looked up at her and smiled faintly. "But I'm glad to be part of the generation that's going to start it."
She couldn't help but smirk back, an even fainter smile, as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple. He rested his head against her shoulder again, not failing to notice his mother watching them softly.
"Tell me, Kurt" she said. "You lived in the future. Are everyone going to know about mutants?"
"...Yes" he grimaced ever so slightly. "It's due to happen in two years, if everything goes as before."
Her gaze became unfocused as she thought about it for a minute. "How is going to go? How people react?"
The boy's grimace deepened and he shifted to sit cross-legged. "It's- basically going to be a little war for a moment. And the conflict will be going on for as long as I know. People are going to be too afraid of us, as mutants in general, to not vote for every military project the government would launch. Some hate-groups will get out of control."
The woman's face was a clear giveaway of her concern. "Is it go be safe for you?"
"It won't be safe for anyone anywhere" he responded. "Not even if I returned home, if that's what you're thinking. And I would rather be out there… at least trying to make a difference."
After a moment the worried frown eased slightly to make room for a smile. "I am proud of you, son."
At first Kurt was a little taken back by the words but then he smiled. "Thanks, mom."
"Just be careful."
"I will do my best."
"Both of you."
Fallen smiled briefly; "I'll try."
After another moment of contemplating the future, Margali spoke up again; "Are there going to be many couples like you?"
The two looked at one another before turning to her again.
"Not many that I'd know of" Kurt responded honestly. "I came across a few, but they were married before world learned about mutants. Other than that I don't think I knew a human-mutant couple that lasted" as he said that he instinctively coiled his tail around Fallen's ankle. A part of him was worried to face the crisis again because of how much backlash their relationship can get when it comes to this.
The atmosphere in the living room became a little heavy as each one of the three indulged in their own thoughts on the situation that was bound to be their future.
xXx
"It got a little dark there, didn't it?" Fallen asked stopping in the open door of Kurt's room as the boy fished for a towel and comfy outfit to sleep in. Seeing how he turned to look at the window she rolled her eyes. "I meant the conversation."
"Oh- oh. Ja" he agreed. "Maybe I should have kept the future to myself. Mom doesn't need to worry about this on top of everything" he wondered. "What do you think?"
"I think she appreciated your honesty" the girl pulled away from the doorframe and rested back against his desk instead. "And she'd smell the lie a mile away if you tried to sugar coat it anyway."
"True" he smirked getting up from the crouching position by his drawer. "On the light side of life though" he used the free hand to run gently up and down her side with a mischievous smirk on his face. "Wouldn't it be terrible if we broke the unspoken rule and taken a bath together?"
"That would be absolutely terrible" she smirked.
"Right. Because parents raised be to be a decent guy" he made a theatrically thoughtful face.
"Well" she said like she disagreed. He looked at her like he dared her to. "I can't deny you're a gentleman but I like to add up to your pile of sins so" she leaned up to his face. "Screw being decent."
His smile grew uncontrollably wider. "That's what I expected to hear" he grinned briefly and pulled her slightly away from the desk to comfortably teleport both of them to the bathroom.
xXx
"Ah, I wish we had a bath at the Institute" Fallen sighed with relaxation as she stretched her arms.
"We would never get into the bathroom because Kitty would be spending hours on end taking baths" Kurt gave her a reality check. He was very focused on rearranging wet hair that clung to her exposed back into fun patterns.
"Okay. A private bath, then" she corrected.
"Hn" Wagner snickered and gave up playing with her hair as he leaned in to wrap his arms around her. He placed a kiss on her back; "That could work. You know, we should be getting private bathrooms in about two years."
"After the Institute gets blown to shreds?" she looked back with her brow arched questioningly.
"Yeeeah… see, the Institute does that sometimes. You'll get used to it."
Harris laughed softly and rested back, comfortably nestling against the boy's torso. "Your mom's right, I got myself into a crazy mess" she shook her head letting her eyes half-close sleepily. "Our school blowing up every few-..."
She trailed off as they heard footsteps going up the stairs. Fallen sat up again, alarmed. After a moment there was a knock on the bathroom door. The girl looked at Kurt again but he started to point at her and gesticulate something that meant she's to speak up.
"Um, yes?" she asked trying to sound non-suspicious.
"Oh, Fallen" they heard from the other side of the door. "Where is Kurt?"
The brunette looked at Wagner again, a look of despair on her face. He started to gesticulate even more but she was done trying to understand what's that supposed to mean. "He said he's going for a walk- should be back soon" she explained.
"Alright, thank you" Margali said, and they heard her walking away.
As her footsteps disappeared the two exhaled with relief. Then Wagner couldn't contain his laughter so much he needed to muffle it against the girl's shoulder. "Holy shit, we're saved. I don't want to have this conversation with your mother on the first effin day" the girl covered her eyes with her hand.
"That's fine, I think she believed you" still laughing a little Kurt pulled back, pulling her along against himself. "We're gut, as long as we're quiet."
"Look who's talking" she looked at him critically. "You can never be quiet."
"OH YOU!"
Fallen laughed as she roughly made it to the other end of the tub trying to escape what she predicted to be a tickle attack. Kurt lunged after her, but the water swung too much at their sudden movement, so both immediately stopped as not to risk turning the entire bathroom into a pool.
Perched in front of the girl Wagner smiled. "Fine, I'm not waging war this time because we'll destroy the place" he informed in a matter of fact tone.
"Waging war? What you wanna wage a war for? Stating facts?" she teased.
"Shut up" he told her immediately sealing her lips with his own.
xXx
The following morning Kurt's smile was so wide it almost looked painful on his face as he entered the kitchen early morning and gave his mother a peck on the cheek; "[Merry Christmas!]"
The woman chuckled as she put down her cup of tea. "[Good morning, love. Merry Christmas to you too. I'm glad to see you so full of energy this early.]"
The boy smiled again as he grabbed a bowl and a cereal box. "[I was going to help you prepare everything for the evening]" he shoved a few into his mouth.
"[Kurt, what do I always tell you about eating cereal without milk?]" the woman reprimanded.
"[Sorry]" he responded briefly before grabbing milk as well. "[Do we have everything we need at home? Me and Fallen can go buy stuff before shops close at the noon.]"
"[I've had everything stored in advance, don't worry]" she smiled softly. "[Is your girlfriend up yet?]"
It was amusing for the woman to see the shy smirk on the boy's face as he nodded. "[She's getting ready.]"
xXx
Another half an hour later Margali assigned tasks to the two teenagers as she worked alongside them making sure their foods are turning out as they should. Fallen felt like she's doing the last thing she'd normally do, as she was far from having housewive or baker aspirations but ended up assigned to preparing gingerbread - or as Margali and Kurt called it, 'Lebkuchen'. Meanwhile Kurt 'got off easy' according to her, having been assigned to chopping and mixing everything for a potato salad.
However while she didn't exactly love the idea of cooking, much less baking, she enjoyed the chatting and funny teasing in-between.
She was already almost finished using cookie cutter, the mood was so light, she didn't expect the darkness that filled her heart when Margali asked this question;
"Tell me about your past and family, Fallen" she said softly. "The real story."
Even Kurt's smile wavered as he shifted his eyes to the brunette who stopped with her hands on the cookie cutter and an uncertain look on her face.
"There isn't much to say anymore" she said in a lowered voice. "Nothing that matters anyway. But if you want to know…" she took a deep breath and lifted her eyes to the woman. "I think you have the right to know."
The woman smiled at her with understanding and almost apologetically, but she didn't call the questions back. Instead she reached over to her and took a hold of her hand. Fallen didn't want to be blunt and say it's not sadness keeping her from speaking about those matters, but anger, and hand holding does nothing to help that.
"I was born and spent a portion of my life in Poland" she began, unable to remove the grimace from her face. "I lived with my two-faced grandparents, awful alcoholic father whose IQ was as low as his sense of self-importance was high… and a mother who was just disinterested in keeping me and my younger brother safe from them. There was a lot of illegal business going on, a lot of hate and rotting between the household, but nobody ever believed it because we lived in this big, pretty house with a huge garden… I always called it a dollhouse" she smirked bitterly. "Plastic life put on like a show for the audience, but in reality it was a terrible environment and I hated my relatives so deeply… I couldn't be happier to leave that behind."
Finally she lifted her eyes from where she bore them into the cookie cutter, briefly brushing them past Kurt and stopping at his mother's concerned face. Her eyes were undoubtedly sad.
"Please, don't feel sorry for me, Mrs Szardos" she said immediately. "I've moved on long ago, especially since I ran away years before coming here."
The woman smiled at her sadly. "Yes, I heard you were on the run when you met Kurt."
Fallen nodded her head slightly. "That's correct. I ended up in this area, except in the other dimension. I was an underage runaway and he couldn't show up in public, but together we made it work and eventually created a better life for both of us" she smiled past the woman at Wagner who just listened with a soft smile, still slowly stirring the big bowl of salad.
xXx
After watching two christmas movies and spending a while playing board games and just chatting, they've finally reached the time for the dinner. Margali sent the two teens upstairs asking them to put on something more suitable than the clothes they stained during cooking earlier on, and after they returned downstairs they noticed that there are two boxes sitting below the tree. One big enough, the other actually so large it could fit a two year old child.
"Mom, did you buy those?" Kurt asked.
"[I didn't exactly 'buy' them]" the woman responded. "[Those are just two things I was thinking about passing down to the two of you, and Christmas seemed to be as good an opportunity as ever.]"
Fallen peeked questioningly at Kurt who briefly translated the point. "Oh" the girl was uncertain about receiving anything, especially since she didn't have anything but the two handmade christmas cards she and Kurt drew and a ceramic depiction of an angel they already handed to Margali.
However the issue as temporarily put aside as Margali made it clear that they shouldn't bother their attention with gifts before they sit down to eat, and so they did. The collective effort of setting up the table resulted in a nice, small buffet that kept them busy for another hour. At last Kurt crouched at the foot of the christmas tree and picked up one of the two boxes and checked the label to discover it's for him.
"The other one is for you" Margali prompted seeing that Fallen just watches him. The brunette looked at her a little surprised again; the other box was really large. But she approached and knelt beside Kurt to open it.
After getting past the paper and cardboard she was presented with another box, however this one was clearly part of the gift; it was a little worn, but still in a good shape, that guitar case. She flipped the locks and opened it to see the actual guitar sitting inside. "This is amazing" she said under her breath.
"It belonged to my father" Kurt said smiling softly as he gazed at the item, his own gift half-opened in his hands. He then pulled out what was inside his box; a very good, even if old, polaroid camera. "Aaand this was my mom's" he smiled turning to look at the woman.
She chuckled perching at the side of the sofa beside them. "Yes, I think both of that deserved to be pass to next generation. And I want to see lot of photos from Amerika, ja?"
"Of course!" Wagner got up to hug his mother. "Thanks, mom!"
As the boy pulled away the woman's eyes turned to the girl. "I ask Kurt if you want guitar. He says you love muzik and wanted to learn to play" she smiled.
The girl responded with a wide smile as well. "That's true. Thank you so much, Mrs Szardos."
"Oh stop calling me 'mrs'" she waved her off, "and come give me a hug instead."
xXx
Kurt was now sitting beside his mother as she showed him exactly how the camera works and how to take quality photos, meanwhile Fallen sat cross legged on the floor and perched her new quitar on her legs to try and see if she can produce any reasonable sounds. Eventually she decided to browse the notes that were included inside the case because she was clearly not equipped with the skill to just improvise and make it sound any good.
Inside the notes however she found something else; an old photography of a man she immediately recognized to be Kurt's father. The man was perched on a stool, on some kind of a stage, a microphone on a stand before him, and this exact guitar in his hands. She was just gazing at the picture when Kurt got up enthusiastically;
"Alright, time to the the first photo then!" he said and started to position the camera on the table, slipping one book after another below it to get the right angle. Fallen just watched him for a moment before casting her eyes down on the photo again. "Ah, perfect!"
She looked up again to see him proudly step away from the camera that had a good 15 books sitting below it so it could properly capture the couch. The boy smiled at her. "Come on!"
"What?"
"What what? For the photo of course" he grinned and leaned over the camera again. "I'm setting it for 30 seconds."
He then hopped onto the sofa beside his smiling mother. Seeing the empty space on his other side, Fallen could easily imagine his father sitting there. A family picture that filled her heart with something she found foreign to her.
"Come on, Fall" Kurt gestured for her to come take the empty space.
But she felt like the place was sacred, reserved for his father alone. A part of the family. Yet the way Kurt and Margali smiled at her made her feel like she was welcomed to join this family. And as much as she never before desired for such a bond, this time it made her feel filled. Like she was once broken and now becoming whole again.
She smiled slightly and sat on Kurt's other side, immediately being wrapped under his arm and pulled closer. She slipped her hand around his stomach in response and looked up at the other two, just in time to catch a glimpse of their smiles before sound of the camera informed them it's about time to turn their faces towards the lens for their first photo together.
xXx
Just as it was previously said, Fallen was granted free will to stay behind when Kurt and his mother went for the Midnight Mass; when they were back an hour later, engaging in a happy conversation, Kurt nearly jumped Fallen from the front door;
"You must come with me and see the Christmas decorations in the village!" he said, his eyes sparkling.
"Sure, maybe tomorrow?"
"How about now?"
She lifted her eyebrows at first but then shrugged. "Yeah, fine. Just let me put on my boots and the coat" she knelt down in the hallway to do so.
"Right! I just need to switch battery in my inducer before that, give me a minute!" he switched the watch off and teleported away; another BAMF could be heard upstairs in his room.
Fallen turned her face away from the stairs and to Margali as she heard the woman chuckle as she removed her own outwear. "Kurt's really excited about everything at Christmas, isn't he?" she said.
The brunette smiled briefly. "Indeed. Sometimes I envy that he enjoys it so much."
"He always did" the woman nodded, though her smile gained a hint of sad nostalgy. "But I'm glad that now he can enjoy it without have to stay at home. He always had too much energy to be keep in- confinement. Me and Hans hoped this time would come that he could go outside like this. And now he didn't only explore other continents but also explore another dimension" she chuckled with amusement. "I'm happy for that. And that he met you there."
Fallen smiled faintly at her as she pulled on her coat. "Yes… so am I… Will- will you tell Kurt I'll wait for him outside? It's too warm here to be wearing all of this."
Margali nodded and the girl left the house, emerging into the cold world outside. She inhaled shakily, the icy air itched her nose and she felt her eyes become a little more wet than they should be. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood there for a moment, watching the snow covered landscape of forests and high mountains, moonlight reflected from the ground making the night bright.
Finally she heard the door open behind her and warm light was casted on the snow around for a moment as Kurt said his goodbye and left. She heard his footsteps approach on the snow and looked around, knowing perfectly well that he'd be able to see the tears in her eyes. He clearly did as he looked take off guard;
"You know I'm not the kind of person to ever regret things I couldn't change…" she started right away. "But there was one I really regretted. Possibly one of the biggest regrets of my life" she snorted and fully turned towards him. "And that was not getting to meet your parents."
A soft smile of understanding apparead on Kurt's face as he wiped away her eye gently and pulled her a little closer. "Luckily things turned out in a way that let you meet at least one. Unless you count Mystique too" he scoffed a little.
"No… You know what I meant" she chuckled slightly. "You and your parents… it was such a closed circle. I knew none of you had a lot of trust for other people… I wanted to be able to prove myself before them so they know you're with someone who truly cares, like they did. And finally I wanted to see if I'm right that- with them it would really feel like a family. And it does" she smiled tearfully. "Your mom is wonderful. It makes me feel all warm to see how much she cares. Geez, I'm getting soft" she chuckled wiping her eyes as Kurt pulled her deeper into his arms.
"Ah, not true! I know you too well. Soft is the last thing you'd ever be" he stated. "This is just what it feels like to be a part of a family."
Next time on X-Men: Revolution...
So perhaps going on a school trip wasn't such a brilliant idea, things tend to go wrong when they are suggested by Mystique. But this time it may turn against her as Rogue gets a clearer glance at who is her real friend, and who is the enemy. However while she suspected the truth for a while now, nobody expected another revelation that will take place at the Institute. One thing to be sure of is that it will change a lot among the X-Men.
Episode 7.0: Turn of the Rogue