In the Beginning Chapter 11, a x-men: evolution fanfic

In case anyone had any doubts? sucks. I've been trying to post this chapter off and on since about midnight Saturday but it just finally decided to take it.

GabbyKat13 - glad you're enjoying it and thanks for letting us know.

Evilerk - cool that you hunted down Evolution Unbound, though we're curious what 'your pairing' is that we supposedly don't like there? Don't think anyone really has anything for or against any pairing, really, though Kurt/Rogue takes a lot of flack (joking...mostly) for being 'incest'. ;)

Anyway, anyone else out there who's enjoying this, we'd love to hear from you. Only two more chapters to go now.

Rogue
—
"Strange movie, stranger people doing even stranger things in the middle of the night. She paused in her glove re-arranging and raised an eyebrow at him, noticing that even as he talked about Rocky Horror and things that happened in the middle of the night, his tail was coiled around her leg, twitching. It's really one of those things you have to experience for yourself. You should totally come along next time for the, um, cultural experience!" He really was oblivious to what it was doing, wasn't he? Clearing her throat, she brought attention to the prehensile groping.

"Mmm, if it is then it definitely needs The Talk, because I'm not really seeing that as working so well." No, because it couldn't have been on purpose. She watched, eyebrow raised, as he yelled at his tail and apologized through his hair. Which, now that she thought about it, was really far too long for anyone's good.

"You know, you guys can still ask me to leave if you want?" She turned back to Mariko, rolling her eyes. Yeah, that would communicate exactly how she felt about the subject. Or at least how she wanted to appear to feel about it.

"Verdammt thing has a mind of its own," he informed her with a soft laugh. "And it was just being friendly." Aaaand things were about to get awkward. There wasn't much that you could do to recover from the weirdness of a good friend feeling up your leg with his tail. Maybe changing the subject.

She looked at Kurt, trying to think of something to say. Preferably something that didn't involve nudity and things that weren't safe for prime-time television. "You need a haircut."

Nagging about shit was always a good way to get people to move on. And really, it was true. "You're about two inches away from a mullet there." Nodding, she reached for the nearest can of root beer, not really caring whose it was. She was thirsty. "Seriously. I bet Kitty'll do it cheap."

Mariko
—
"Strange movie, stranger people doing even stranger things in the middle of the night. It's really one of those things you have to experience for yourself. You should totally come along next time for the, um, cultural experience!"

Smiling, Mariko gave a slight tilt of her head in acquiescence. "When in Rome, right?" Although maybe that didn't work if the film was English like Rogue had thought. It was close enough.

"Verdammt thing has a mind of its own. And it was just being friendly."

Frowning, Mariko gave a slow, uncertain nod. "Maybe it's just different here, but back home, humping someone's leg is considered a little more than friendly," she teased. "And when I say more than friendly, I mean grossly inappropriate." With a shrug of her shoulders, she turned back to flicking channels.

"You need a haircut."

With a frown, Mariko turned to glance at Rogue. That was kind of random, or at the very least, it came from right out of the blue. Shrugging her shoulders yet again, she turned her attention back to the TV, wishing that she could remember where any of the shows that had looked interesting had been.

"You're about two inches away from a mullet there."

Now that sounded like a threat for certain. No one wanted to end up stuck with a mullet, not in this decade.

Kurt
—
And there was no whapping going on as he made his apologies and collected his errant tail into his lap, where it hopefully couldn't get into any more trouble. And as the lack of whappage was a decidedly good thing he moved on to cheerfully explain his tail's wayward tendencies to Mariko, who didn't quite seem to grasp the trials of having an extra, prehensile appendage judging by her response.

"Maybe it's just different here, but back home, humping someone's leg is considered a little more than friendly," she teased. Kurt's eyes widened and mouth opened to protest at her choice of words...while definitely not thinking about the imagery that went along with them...but was forestalled as she continued. "And when I say more than friendly, I mean grossly inappropriate."

"Pfft! That's like calling an arm across someone's shoulders the same as a hand down their pants," he protested without much heat, and he even managed to refrain from sticking his tongue out yet again.

"You need a haircut." Rogue suddenly announced out of the blue.

"Random much?" he asked, cocking his head quizzically at her...and just incidentally pushing his hair out of his eyes, which didn't at all mean he needed a haircut...really. Not a bad distraction from discussing what Mariko apparently took to be his tail's carnal interest in Rogue, though, since that wasn't really a subject that bore any further scrutiny.

"You're about two inches away from a mullet there," she added, nodding, and he shot her a scandalized glare as he ran both hands through his bangs before grabbing two handfuls on top of his head and tugging lightly.

"A mullet?" he demanded. "No way! The bangs totally negate any mulletness!" he insisted, letting his hands fall and then blowing absently at the hair that drifted across his face. Because, yeah, mullets...so not a good fashion statement to make, no matter how fundamentally indifferent he was to his hair. Sam was a nice guy and all, but the mullet was just...wrong. Bad and wrong and, just to add insult to injury, totally synonymous with the rockhead.

"Seriously," she insisted after snagging his root beer from the table. "I bet Kitty'll do it cheap."

"Cheap? Cheap is insulting a guy's hair and then stealing his drink," he shot back, and this time he did stick his tongue out again, because the situation so demanded the most childish response he could muster. "It's not that bad. Is it?" he asked, almost plaintively, as he rolled his eyes up as though he could actually see his own hair.

It wasn't like he really had any emotional attachment to the style or anything. It was just that, well, it was pretty much the only way he'd ever had his hair. He'd never actually given it any thought beyond the fact that the long bangs were handy for concealing his eyes, at least partially. When it got too long he took a pair of shears to it and otherwise just ignored it.

Okay...so maybe it was time to consider a change. But it so wasn't anywhere near a mullet!

Rogue
—
"Maybe it's just different here, but back home, humping someone's leg is considered a little more than friendly." Did she really have to use that phrasing? Humping, be it one's leg or... anything else was not what Rogue wanted the conversation to go back to.

"Pfft! That's like calling an arm across someone's shoulders the same as a hand down their pants." Okay. They needed a subject change, and fast. Kurt's need for a haircut that didn't remind her of what Kitty's was when it was down seemed as good an idea as anything.

"A mullet?" he demanded. "No way! The bangs totally negate any mulletness!"

She shook her head sadly. "Your bangs are shorter than the rest. That makes it more like a mullet."

She reached for the nearest can of soda, adding that Kitty would probably cut his hair for next to nothing. Of course, given how well Kitty did other practical things, like cooking and driving... might be worth the extra cash.

"Cheap? Cheap is insulting a guy's hair and then stealing his drink." She rolled her eyes and returned his tongue-sticking-outing, taking a pointedly long sip of the root beer. Really, Kurt was easy. Not easy, although there seemed to be evidence to support that as well... wait, right. They'd moved on. But if there was anyone in the mansion whose hair you could make fun of, Kurt was it. Mostly just because he had so damn much of it. Everywhere. "It's not that bad. Is it?"

She finished off the root beer and handed the empty can back to him. "It's pretty bad. Could be worse, though. You could have a bowl cut. But it's still pretty bad."

Leaning away from him, she squinted her eyes and nodded a few times. "Yeah. It's bad."

Kurt
—
Rogue rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue right back out at him and he almost giggled at the image of Rogue, badass Gothgrrl, with her tongue sticking out past purple-black lipstick. Still, there were more important subjects at hand, like the assault on his hair, and he looked plaintively between Rogue and Mariko as he asked, "It's not that bad. Is it?"

"It's pretty bad," Rogue shot back, after finishing off is drink and handing him back the empty can and he rolled his eyes both at the comment and the drink theft. "Could be worse, though. You could have a bowl cut. But it's still pretty bad."

She was leaning back to examine him further, complete with squinting eyes and considering nods, and he screwed his face up at her in a comical grimace as he waited for her final judgment. No point interrupting, as he was obviously going to get it in anyway whether he wanted it or not.

"Yeah. It's bad."

He snorted in indignation and turned his attention back to Mariko, hoping for some support - even if it was unlikely as, in his experience, girls seemed to stick together on these things. "It's not that bad, is it?" he asked, mock-plaintively as he pushed his bangs back from his eyes with one thick-fingered hand before cocking his head and eyeing her warily.

"Or should I not be asking that, given the whole 'sticking together to keep guys in line' thing that girls usually seem to have going?" he added, waggling his eyebrows teasingly as he hopped up and snatched another root beer off the table before stepping up to settle comfortably on the wall by the TV. Might be best to get away from them if they were going to potentially gang up on him, after all.

Mariko
—
"Pfft! That's like calling an arm across someone's shoulders the same as a hand down their pants."

Mariko shook her head and protested "Nuh-uh." It was a lot more like calling a tail down someone's pants the same as a hand down their pants. But she couldn't be bothered to say any of that. If Kurt wasn't going to listen, then he was just going to have to learn the hard way and she was looking forward to being there, watching and laughing. She shot Kurt a very broad, very genuine grin.

"It's not that bad, is it?"

Mariko opened her mouth to answer, but quickly fell silent as Kurt started talking again.

"Or should I not be asking that, given the whole 'sticking together to keep guys in line' thing that girls usually seem to have going?"

With a sigh, Mariko shook her head slowly. "Kurt, Kurt, Kurt," she said slowly, feigning despair. "We don't disagree with you just because you're a guy. We disagree with you because you're wrong. Because you're a guy."

Rogue
—
"It's not that bad, is it?"

She frowned, leaning around Kurt to look at Mariko. "Sure, ask her. My opinion isn't enough, is it?"

Although she tried to sound offended, it was hard not to smile, especially as he amended his question, "Or should I not be asking that, given the whole 'sticking together to keep guys in line' thing that girls usually seem to have going?"

Damn, seemed Kurt had been spying on the secret meeting of the womenfolk. As he grabbed a root beer and hopped up onto the wall like the little blue monkey that he was, she grabbed his shirt and folded it neatly on her lap.

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt," she said slowly, feigning despair. "We don't disagree with you just because you're a guy. We disagree with you because you're wrong. Because you're a guy."

Nodding in agreement, Rogue picked some of the fur off of his shirt. Was he shedding? That was a little odd. Looking up at him, she tilted her head to the side and frowned. "You remind me of one of those little suction cup dolls that people put on the back windshield of their cars. One of those, with particularly bad hair."

Setting the shirt on the couch, she stood up and headed toward the armoire at the other end of the room. Doubling back to grab the shirt (because no way was she going to give it back to him now without a fight), she gestured toward one of the drawers. "I bet there's a pair of scissors in here. Sit down, I'll cut it for you right now."

Kurt
—
"Sure, ask her. My opinion isn't enough, is it?" Rogue asked with a frown, but he didn't dignify that with an answer, because of course it wasn't. She'd made a mission out of harassing, abusing and generally keeping him - and every other guy in the house - in line. Her opinion was automatically suspect on an issue like hair, no matter how much he loved her...though he did reconsider the wisdom of asking Mariko for an opinion on the subject, given the female propensity for sticking together to keep guys in their place.

With a sigh, Mariko shook her head slowly and Kurt cocked his head, lips twitching into a slight, not quite smile in anticipation of finding out just where on the scale of obligatory male oppression the newbie was going to fall. "Kurt, Kurt, Kurt," she said slowly, feigning despair. "We don't disagree with you just because you're a guy. We disagree with you because you're wrong. Because you're a guy."

Yup, shoulda known. Just another cog in the great female conspiracy. Shame, that. She seemed pretty cool otherwise, but a girl was a girl was a girl, X-gene or no.

"Pfft! Double-whammied," he replied, shaking his own head sadly in imitation of Mariko's previous action. "Cursed by an X-gene and a Y-chromosome. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I bother to get out of bed in the morning. Oh, no. Wait. I remember now. It's because the dude with the bad attitude and the shiny claws'd come julienne my mattress if I didn't show up for training on time."

"You remind me of one of those little suction cup dolls that people put on the back windshield of their cars, Rogue suddenly announced out of the blue, and he shot her an amused look that he couldn't quite manage to make disgruntled. "One of those, with particularly bad hair."

"Random much?" he asked, before emphatically adding, "and I do not have particularly bad hair!" as she rose from the couch and started towards the armoire...before doubling back and collecting his shirt off the couch?? Verfluckt, he was never going to get that back now...

He cocked his head, tail twitching in slightly agitated curiosity as she gestured towards one of the drawers in the big armoire. "I bet there's a pair of scissors in here. Sit down, I'll cut it for you right now."

He blinked owlishly at her for a moment, processing the suggestion before scuttling quickly up the wall to stop with his feet still pressed to the wall above the TV and his back resting comfortably against the ceiling, a vantage point from which he could look down on her in complete and unperturbed safety.

"Um, that's okay," he countered. "I think maybe I should give a bit more thought to just what to do with it first, don't you? No reason to be too hasty, after all. It's been like this for ages, another day or two isn't going to make much difference." He nodded his head emphatically at that, before shifting his attention back to Mariko with a bright smile. "Right fraulein? Not like the hair's going anywhere, after all..."

Mariko
—
"Sure, ask her. My opinion isn't enough, is it?"

Mariko grinned in amusement, before offering Rogue a look of mock sympathy. "Don't worry about it. He'll get over it, it's just while I'm exciting and new."

"Cursed by an X-gene and a Y-chromosome. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I bother to get out of bed in the morning. Oh, no. Wait. I remember now. It's because the dude with the bad attitude and the shiny claws'd come julienne my mattress if I didn't show up for training on time."

Wow. Way to make a girl feel glad to be there. Staring at Kurt through narrowed eyes, Mariko wagged a finger at him disapprovingly. "You're not making me happy and welcome," she chided, "I take it we're talking about the gym teacher?" she added as an afterthought.

"Right fraulein? Not like the hair's going anywhere, after all..."

"Okay, he's not entirely wrong," Mariko told Rogue, before giving Kurt a supportive grin. "At least this time, anyway. Even a stopped clock and all that, you know?" She frowned, thoughtfully. "Besides, you've got to admit, holding someone down and going at them with scissors has a definite danger potential. I imagine he's a squirmer."

Rogue
—
"Don't worry about it. He'll get over it, it's just while I'm exciting and new." She nodded. That was true. Soon, Mariko would just be another of the many freaks living there, and she'd fade away until Bobby recruited her to his little army of Asian troublemakers.

"You're not making me happy and welcome," Mariko piped up, "I take it we're talking about the gym teacher?" As her eyebrow shot up, she turned to the girl. Gym teacher? Logan?

"Little hairy midget man?" He was sort of a gym teacher, maybe.

"I think maybe I should give a bit more thought to just what to do with it first, don't you? No reason to be too hasty, after all. It's been like this for ages, another day or two isn't going to make much difference." She watched as Kurt monkeyed his way up to the ceiling, well out of reach. Sighing, she closed the drawer that she'd been rummaging through and headed back to the couch.

Mariko being on his side wasn't helpful either. "Besides, you've got to admit, holding someone down and going at them with scissors has a definite danger potential. I imagine he's a squirmer."

She snorted. Yeah, he was probably a squirmer. Her mind immediately went back to the gutter on that comment, and she leaned against the back of the couch, trying not to look like she was thinking about what possible situations might cause Kurt to squirm. Clearing her throat, she looked up at him. "It's safe, you can come down. Or else I'll have to scale the wall and go all ninja on your ass."

Kurt
—
"You're not making me happy and welcome," Mariko informed him with a glare. "I take it we're talking about the gym teacher?"

Trying, not too successfully, to stifle a laugh Kurt shot a look at Rogue, whose eyebrow was quirked up into her hairline in about as close to outright laughter as she ever got. He gave up even trying not to laugh at her next words.

"Little hairy midget man?"

"Little hairy midget man with nasty-ass claws and an attitude to match," Kurt elaborated, still laughing. "Don't worry about him, though," he added with a broad grin, "he hasn't actually ventilated anyone yet, he just likes to threaten to."

He was going to say more, add in something at least moderately reassuring - because Logan was really wasn't that bad, he just seemed to want them to think he was. Especially the newer kids, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, right about then Rogue decided to threaten him with scissors and it was time to get well out of range and look for some moral support.

"Okay, he's not entirely wrong," Mariko answered in response to his plea, and he smiled back at her in not entirely feigned relief. "At least this time, anyway. Even a stopped clock and all that, you know?" And he could live with that, because obviously she had to get in the grrrlpower support and all, but so long as she was on the side of Rogue not getting near his head with scissors - because he liked his ears, thanks - then he was good with it. This time.

"Besides, you've got to admit, holding someone down and going at them with scissors has a definite danger potential. I imagine he's a squirmer."

"Yup, definitely a squirmer," he agreed, looking down at Rogue from the safety of his spot on the ceiling with a cocky grin that got even broader as she snorted in what he chose to interpret as resignation. "I squirm and wriggle all over the place, and then there's the tail," he added, waving it admonishingly at her. "There'd be blood. It'd be messy. We don't want to go there."

"It's safe, you can come down. Or else I'll have to scale the wall and go all ninja on your ass."

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, debating the wisdom of coming back within reach - and weighing it against the entertaining, though unlikely, prospect of her actually trying to get up the wall after him. She hadn't actually gotten out any scissors, so he should be safe enough, and the hair that was under debate was hanging annoyingly in his eyes in this position...

"Fine," and he let go of the ceiling with hands and feet, somersaulting easily as he fell and landing in a crouch next to the coffee table. "Don't know if my ass could survive you going ninja on it, after all," he added as he straightened up - most of the way - and hitched his cargoes a bit higher over his hipbones. She really should give him his verdammt shirt back, but he knew better than to ask and it was his own fault for abandoning in within reach. Maybe if he was sneaky...

"So," he pulled a tootsie pop out of his pocket and began unwrapping it as he turned his attention back to Mariko, "I take it you haven't had the complete rundown on training and stuff if you figure Logan's a 'gym teacher', ja?" He popped the cherry sucker into his mouth and, almost as an afterthought, fished out a couple more - chocolate and cherry - and, smiling around the stick protruding from his mouth, offered them to the girls.

Mariko
—
"Little hairy midget man?"

Nodding in agreement, Mariko pointed a figure at Rogue. "Sounds like the guy," she replied.

"It's safe, you can come down. Or else I'll have to scale the wall and go all ninja on your ass."

"You know," Mariko mused thoughtfully, "I actually have a cousin who likes to be called Samurai. He's kind of a dick though." Kenuichi was not an acceptable topic around the home though.

"I take it you haven't had the complete rundown on training and stuff if you figure Logan's a 'gym teacher', ja?"

Mariko gave a quick shrug of her shoulders. She probably should have taken the time to read all the stuff Xavier had given her. Still, she'd been forced to leave home just because of who she was. Should and are weren't exactly best friends anymore. Plucking the closest sucker from Kurt's hands with a grateful smile, she shrugged her shoulders, "Professor gave me a bunch of stuff to read. I haven't yet."

Thoughtfully, she frowned as she unwrapped her sucker. "He told me he was a gym teacher," she said, before popping the candy into her mouth, rolling it around as she gazed up at the ceiling, "there was a sort of, kind of, for now type thing involved though"