Final chapter of this one! Our next one's called 'Like Father Like Son," and is the next part!! Here, Sketchy plays Todd and the Professor, and Kchuu is a triple-threat with Kurt, Evan, and Rogue. Hope you like it!! Stay tuned for the next part!
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Logan had several duties as an instructor at the institute, but one of his least favorites was cleaning the X-jet. It was a little like cleaning his bike, but much, much bigger, and without the pride of seeing his property in good condition. If one of the kids got in trouble, then it was normal for them to get the task of cleaning it, but at the moment no one was… God, what is that smell? Logan turned to see Kurt and Todd walk through the door, hand in hand. "What're you doing here, elf?" He scrunched his nose and looked to Todd. Offending smell found. "What's he doin' here?"
Kurt tried to make his expression more serious, but he was unable to wipe the huge smile off his face. "We're on probation, Logan! I mean, I'm on probation, but Todd is here to help."
Logan squinted at the two. A quick mental talk with the Professor proved the excuse true, and Logan suddenly felt Todd was okay. After all, whoever managed to get him out of jet cleaning duty was either a friend, or someone very stupid who still got Logan's appreciation. "The jet needs cleaning and a wax job. Don't let Tadpole spit on it." Logan tossed the soapy wet sponge he had been holding to Kurt, and left the room to leave them to their work.
Todd watched hesitantly as Logan left the room. He had just gotten lucky, because it appeared he would live to see another day. He turned to look at the sudsy sponge Kurt was holding, and made a face of disgust. "Seriously yo, I need those gloves, that stuff'll make my skin feel like crap lateh."
Kurt disappeared momentarily, then reappeared with a small janitors cart. He opened the drawer on the side and crouched, rummaging around in it. Eventually he emerged holding a pair of heavy-duty green rubber gloves. They looked like the kind used for handling radioactive materials. "These should be perfect!" Kurt handed Todd the gloves, careful not to touch his sudsy hands to the boys skin. Kurt was just about to start teaching Todd how to apply the cleaner when a voice rang out from across the room. "Hey! What's that brotherhood guy doing in our hanger!?"
A quick look revealed the speaker to be Evan, dressed in a white tank top and baggy jeans. He was holding a basketball, and looked like he was about to go outside through the hanger exit. While putting on his gloves, Todd gave a scowl to the blonde not-a-football-player-but-still-technically-a-jock. Giving his most sarcastic tone, he said, "Well, you're tha one who started it, yo. Yah blabbed on Fuzzball here and got him sentenced tah chore prison fo' lord knows how long. An' since I feel partly responsible fo' his one moment of sheer coolness, I decided tah' help ease the pain of-" Todd threw a hateful glare at the sponge, "THAT." Todd took a hesitant glance at Kurt, did the Fuzzy one still want to keep all this under wraps?
Kurt's face was apprehensive. Evan was the last person he wanted to know about their... relationship. He'd probably freak. Kurt decided that now was not the time, nor place, to come out of the closet, and tried to play it off. "Ja... Why did you tell the Professor about my prank, anyway? I thought you disliked Duncan's team of jerks as much as ve do!" He looked back at Todd, face a bit uneasy. Evan bounced the ball a few times.
"Yeah, I don't like those guys, but... One of my teammates was throwin' the pigskin with 'em, and you really freaked him out. I don't want you to get caught... And seriously, that's the kind of douchebag thing Maximoff would do! Just got on my nerves, you know?" He began walking closer, nearing the janitor's cart.
Todd rolled his eyes. Spiky had no clue what he was talking about. Sure, Pietro would annoy the heck outta people, maybe try to intimidate them, but he didn't play terror games. Which I guess we were... He grabbed the bucket of soapy water that Logan had left on the ground, vaguely noticing the smell of other cleaning chemicals in the pail, then turned to glare at Evan. "So are yah gonna stick around and bug us, yo? Or maybe yah wanna help with the crap yah made us do."
Evan smirked. He was sorry that Kurt had gotten probation again, but he wasn't sorry at all that the Toad was getting punished. The whole hanger stunk because of him! And plus, he'd probably manipulated Kurt into scaring those boys... What a jerk! Evan rolled the ball from palm to palm a few times, then dribbled past the boys. "Nah... smell ya later, loser!" As he ran past, he slipped out a hand, overturning the whole bucket of soapy water onto Todd's head. Serves him right! Probably his first bath in weeks! Evan laughed cockily as he ran out the door.
"Hey!! Get back here!!" Kurt shouted after him, then quickly turned his attention to the dripping teen. Todd was just shocked for a moment, then the burning pain in his eyes started. That water DEFINITELY had more than just soap in it. "GAH-CHRIST!" His hands flew to his face, trying to get the chemical ridden fluid out of his eyes. He was so pre-occupied with the burn in his eyes that he didn't even register that the fluid was also affecting his skin. The places on his face where he managed to get the water/chemical/soap mix off of were dehydrating, and as he grimaced his skin started to crack.
"Mein Gott! Todd, are you--" Kurt saw the blood on Todd's cheeks and reacted instinctively. He grabbed the younger boy, and quickly ported to the shower room nearby. His large fingers fumbled with the handles, but despite this, a flow of warm water soon emerged from a nearby nozzle. Kurt dragged the younger boy over to it and held his face under the flow. "Open your eyes, Todd! You need to vash them out!!"
Todd was having trouble understanding what Kurt was saying--his senses were blurred from the pain-- but at the feel of a warm rush of water most of it went away. Finally grasping what Kurt was trying to say, he opened his eyes. The pressure from the stream of water made him blink hard a few times, but it washed out the chemicals. Free of the burning fluid, Todd finally started to notice the ache in his face, and the water running down the drain that was pink from blood. "Shit, yo."
Kurt pressed a soft, clean washcloth to the younger boy's face. The chemicals seemed to be washing out, but the cracks in his skin bled like cuts. "Are you going to be alright?" Kurt asked tenderly, gently patting Todd's skin with the damp cloth.
Todd scowled, it just figured that he'd been in here all of five minutes before someone tried to kill him. "Yeah, no thanks to Daniels, yo." He snatched the cloth from Kurt and holding it to the worst ache on his face. "THIS is why I wanted the freakin' gloves, but the jerk had to go and toss it on my face!"
"I'm really sorry about that.... I don't think he knew how much it would hurt you... Oh no, your shirt..." The younger boy had a mix of blood and chemicals running down his front. Kurt reached for the hem of Todd's undershirt, to pull it over his head. "Don't worry, you can borrow some of mine, I think they'll--"
The cloth dropped from Todd's hand, landing on the floor with a plop. His hands rushed to the bottom of his shirt, harshly tugging it downwards. "NO!"
Kurt stopped, his surprised eyes meeting Todd's. "V-vhat's wrong?... I..." Kurt was puzzled. It wasn't like he was trying to do anything shady... I mean, his intentions may not have been 100% pure, but he mostly just wanted to get those chemicals away from the boy's skin. Had he done something wrong?
Todd blanched, what was he supposed to say? Sorreh Fuzzy, but if yah got a glimpse of what's under mah shirt, yah'd freak out. An' I don't want yah tah think different of me, which yah will if you see it. "J-just leave it alone Fuzzball! I'm fine!" He tried to move away from the sink, but grimaced as the skin on his chest also began to crack from dehydration. Faint bloodstains began to show through the already red material of his shirt.
Seeing the blood seeping through snapped something inside Kurt. He leaped over, and began yanking at the shirt. He didn't care about Todd's feelings right now!! He was bleeding, and Kurt had to help him.
Todd tried to fight the other boy off, but Kurt had both the height and upper body strength advantage. As the shirts were yanked off, Todd pivoted and slammed his back into the wall. Breathing hard and looking angry, he glared at Kurt. "I told you, I'm FINE!"
That was far from the truth. His chest was cracked in several places, as was his face, and blood was slowly dripping down his front. His stomach was concave, and his ribs showed plainly against his skin. Scratches and small scars were here and there, mostly battle trophies from fights or marks made by a stupid mistake in combat. But the beginnings of thick, ugly red lines showed on his side, curling around to some unknown end on his back.
Kurt stood aghast. His yellow eyes took in Todd's emaciated, bleeding torso. "Mein Gott in Himmel...." He grabbed a towel off a hook on the wall near Todd. "Oh Todd... You need medical attention!" These cuts look bad... And Todd doesn't look like he's been eating properly..... Not to mention... Kurt gulped down a lump of sadness in his throat all those scars...
Todd kept his back against the wall. If Kurt thought the front was bad, then his back'd horrify him. Todd knew for a fact that the large, knotted scars he'd gotten as a kid were as visible as ever. Snatching the towel Kurt held as soon as it was within his grasp, Todd quickly tossed is over his shoulders, wearing it a bit like a shawl, and dabbed at the blood with the corners of the fabric. He finally dared to move away from the wall, now that the towel hid his back, and tried to shift away from Kurt.
"I just need tah soak, yo! I've had worse than this, a bunch of water will take care of it, really! I don't need no 'medical attention'."
Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes. The younger boy was obviously ashamed of his appearance.... Kurt had his scars, too, of course. Training, and fighting, and growing up as a small blue demon in rural Germany had left him with more than a few permanent marks on his body--though most were covered by his fur. But from what Kurt had seen... Todd had been forced into something much worse... Something he didn't want Kurt to know... It hurt, but Kurt understood what he had to do.
"I'll, ah, go get you some bandages, okay? Do you need anything else, or do you want me to leave you alone for a little bit?" His voice cracked with worry.
Todd looked into the blue mutant's eyes for a moment, but quickly turned away in discomfort. "I'll need another shirt, blood and death soap ain't my style." He eyed the shower, still running with warm water. "I'll just be using that to get the red stuff off real quick, if that's fine. Just....Don't come in while I'm doin' that, ok?"
Kurt nodded, and walked out the door of the locker room. He was furious at Evan... That was so inconsiderate, to dump those chemicals on Todd... even if the city kid didn't know about the terrible side effects, it was still a jerk thing to do... And he was furious at himself. He was trying to fuse two worlds that clearly weren't mixing like they should... Of course, he'd love it if everyone liked and accepted Todd like he'd learned to, but... Evan's reaction made Kurt feel like there was no hope....
A little ways away, Rogue stepped out of the danger room. She didn't have anything to do, what with Rysti visiting her folks for the month and no decent movies playing... So she'd gotten a little training done in the danger room. It was on a pretty easy setting--she was just working on physical training at this point-- but she was still very tired. She wanted to get in a quick shower before dinner. She hummed softly to herself as she stripped off her sweaty uniform. No one had been training with her, so she was sure no one was in there. But as she opened the door, her naked body wrapped in nothing but a towel, she was regaled by the sight of a stick-thin back covered in long, violent scars. Rogue screamed out in surprise. The boy was hunched over, and wiping at his chest with a bloodstained towel when the loud noise brought his attention to the girl at the door.
"Oh Gawd, is that Toad Tolensky?! What're you doin' here?!" Rogue's eyes widened in fright and shock. "Help!! Professor, somebody!!" She yelled back through the locker room, stepping back into the hall, stumbling slightly as she struggled to cover herself with the towel..
Todd shot up from his crouch, blushing furiously and turning so his back was away from Rogue, which also meant (unfortunately) That he had to look straight at the girl who....Wasn't wearing much. He tried to get out an explanation, "N-no yo, you got it all wrong! Baldy said it'd be fine if I was here, an' Kurt and I....well there was this soap stuff in a bucket yah see and...That prick Evan just.... There was blood so I needed the shower while Kurt...Damnit, today just sucks." Todd tried to not look at the girl, but his eyes kept wandering back to her. Damn she's hot.
Rogue stepped back into the locker room, peering her head over the side of the door while the wall covered her body. She didn't like the way that Toad was looking at her, and she didn't understand why any member of the brotherhood would be cleaning off in the X-Men's shower room... "So, the professah said you could be here? But... why?"
Slightly relieved and slightly disappointed that Rogue had now made only her head visible to him, Todd managed to look her in the eyes. "Well, y-yah see, I kinda got Fuzzy into trouble with your professor guy, probation or sumin'. Since I, yanno, kinda caused it, I decided tah stick around and help with his punishment."
Rogue smiled. "Well gee, Todd... That's pretty sweet." Rogue had never really hated those brotherhood guys, I mean, she'd been with them for a while before joining the X-Men... And that was a really nice thing for someone like the Toad to do... certainly not what she'd expect. "Ahm sure Kurt's happy for the help! But.... That still doesn't explain why you're covered in blood in our shower room... You okay?"
"Oh," He looked down at the cuts, which were finally starting to close., "Daniels threw some cleaning fluid crap on me, an' let's jus' say it didn't agree wit' my complexion."
"Well, ahm sorry about that... Ah would try to help ya, but I don't have my gloves..." Rogue made a face. "And Ah don't know if ya want to add 'coma' to your list of things ya did today.."
Todd gave a smile, "Heh, thanks fo' the thought though, dawg-ette. I think the Fuzzball 'll be back in a sec." His smile faded as a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Rogue, when you came in how much did you, yanno, see?"
"Oh... well... Yer wearin' pants, so not much." Rogue raised an eyebrow. Ah didn't think Todd was one of the shy types... but judgin' from those scars, maybeh he has a reason to be.... "Ah think the real question is... how much did YOU see?"
Todd took on a look of annoyance, "That's not what I meant yo. Did you see the stuff on my back?" He shuffled uncomfortably "An' I just saw you in a towel, sorreh for starin'. But yanno, hot girl in towel, hard not to." He dabbed the towel onto the cuts that still bled, wincing at the contact. What if she had seen them? Would she figure out where they came from? Not the specifics at least, but...Jeez, it's hard to know if other people can tell types of scars from 'another or not. I only can 'cause I've gotten so many.
"Yeah... that looked pretty bad... Didya get those fighting us? Or... I mean, I know those jocks pick on you, but I didn't think it was that.. brutal..."
All of the sudden, the door to the locker room swung open. "Todd? Are you ready?" Kurt backed in through the door, careful not to look at the shower. "Are you alright in there?" He peeked his head around, and started in shock. "R-rogue?! Vhat are you doing here?! A-a-and..." He looked back at Todd. "H-here. I brought you back a shirt..." He was holding a long-sleeved sage green sweatshirt.
Rogue whirled around to look at Kurt. "Oh, hey there Kurt... Ah was just comin' in here after the danger room, and Ah was pretty surprised ta see Todd here! Just uh, let me know when you guys are finished in here, Ah'll wait in the girls bathroom for a little while..." She edged out of the room. It's not like she was shy or anything ((I mean look at her normal outfit)) but being around two people who weren't enemies and showing that much skin... that's just bad news waiting to happen.
Todd was about to say something when Kurt walked into the room. Todd hoped he hadn't heard any of that conversation, the last thing he wanted was for Kurt to ask about the 'brutal' looking scars. He gave a light farewell nod to Rogue, making a mental note to track her down later and make her take a vow of silence over what she had seen. Draping the towel over his shoulder, took the sweater from Kurt. He held it slightly away from himself, not wanting to get any blood on it. "Thanks dawg, sorry but I'm not done wit' the room just yet. Rogue interrupted my de-bloodifying myself. Can yah give me a couple minutes? I'll be out real quick."
Kurt smiled. "O-okay!" He walked out of the shower room, closing the door behind him. Stupid stupid stupid!! Kurt pressed his forehead to one of the cold metal lockers, his long forelocks shading his face. Instead of bamfing out earlier, he had walked out.... leaving the door unlocked!! He was just lucky Rogue hadn't reacted worse, or touched Todd, or anything like that... And... If Todd hadn't been comfortable with Kurt seeing him naked.... Rogue would've had to have been even more embarrassing.... Kurt cursed himself silently, thudding his fist repeatedly on a locker near his head.
Todd could hear a soft thumping outside the door. Fuzzy can be...Weird sometimes. Sighing and taking another nervous look around the room, Todd finally began to take off the rest of his clothes. No point in not doing a total rinse, it'll help get the cleaning stuff off. He folded the sweater Kurt had given him, putting it on top of his now shed jeans and briefs. The water was still running out of the showerhead above. Quickly stepping into the stream, he began to scrub his scalp, trying to get as much of the lemon scented cleaner off of him as possible. Better make this quick, don't want to be naked here for any longer than I hafta be.
Kurt quit pounding the locker, and sunk to the bench. How could the day have gone any worse? I mean, it was good that Todd wanted to help him and all, but... he put his head in his hands. So much had happened... his head was all whirling thoughts of earlier events... He wondered what was going through Todd's head. Todd... Why hadn't he wanted Kurt to see him shirtless? What did he really have to hide...? He did have some scars, but what kind of fighter doesn't? Of course, he didn't really get a full view, so he didn't know for sure... Kurt tried to remember what Todd had looked like... His mind flashed back.... Todd was far too thin, but man... Just thinking about him all vulnerable and shirtless was enough to bring the blood rushing to his face. And... Mein lieber Gott!! He tried vigorously to calm his thoughts down, Todd would be out any moment....
Todd turned off the water in the shower, finally having gotten most of the soap and blood off of him. The cuts on his face and chest were still tender, and the lines made by the cracked skin would be visible for a few days, but overall he felt a lot better. He stooped to pick up the sweater that he had put on the floor earlier, grabbing it and starting to pull it over his head. Before it got any further than his neck, he noticed a mirror on the wall in front of him that, though slightly steamy, he could see his reflection in. It disturbed him how sickly looking he was. Sure he didn't eat a lot, but that didn't mean he should look starved to death. He was tempted to go wipe the steam off of the mirror, to see if the lines from cracked skin were as visible as he thought they were, but he couldn't. He had learned a long time ago that looking at his own torso would just bring back thoughts and memories he wanted to forget. And the fact that yer as ugly as heck. He slipped on the sweater, his briefs and jeans following suit. Quickly running his fingers through his damp hair, he opened the door to the locker room. "All done dawg."
Kurt's tail pricked up in surprise. He had his hands in his lap, and his cheeks were rosy under the blue fur. "Ah, good! Are you feeling better?" He looked Todd up and down. The boy's hair was wet, and slicked back, and the shirt and wet pants clung to his skin. Kurt had been trying to clear his mind, but now all he could think about was this unfamiliar feeling in hiscalm down, dummkopf, you could screw things up majorly here! He cleared his throat. "That color looks really good on you, you know.... You can have that shirt if you vant it..." He averted his eyes.
"Err, yeah." Todd fidgeted under the other boys gaze. For a moment he wondered whether or not the look was a good thing. But when Kurt looked away, even with the complement he had said, Todd felt something in him sink. "Thanks yo, if yer sure yah don't want it." He looked down at himself. The sweater, though clinging to him because of moisture, was looser than his normal shirt, and felt soft on the inside. The thought of how Kurt had probably worn this sweater a few times before passed through his mind, and he began to blush slightly. "I guess green goes with my complexion or sumtin'." He looked back up at Kurt. "So now what? We just go back and clean the plane? Find and beat up Daniels? Tell yer boss I've been fatally injured and try tah get the rest of the day off? Go hit Daniels with a spatula? Or maybe go pick on Daniels!" He gave a mischievous grin. "I'm especially fond of all the ones wit' 'Daniels' in 'em....Unless..." Todd expression faltered slightly, and he shuffled his feet nervously. "Unless yah want me tah go home. Seems like I 'cause a lotta trouble whenever I do something around yah."
Kurt sighed. He took one last breath to steady himself, and stood. "I'm sorry, Todd... Maybe it vas stupid to bring you here... I'm sorry you always seem to get hurt because of me..." he scuffed the floor with his foot. "Maybe it'd be best if you go home and get some rest..." he put his hand on Todd's shoulder, and slowly brought his yellow eyes up to the younger boy's face. "And besides...." He forced a smile. "If we pick on Daniels today, you might not be able to come over here for my probation! But don't worry, we'll get him back." Kurt wanted to hug the shorter teen, but he was afraid that Todd might be too hurt... Or would he even want a hug from Kurt at this point?
Todd kept his expression from changing, but he felt really disappointed. Kurt regretted bringing him here. Sure he'd been drenched in cleaning fluid and grilled by baldy, but he was here for Kurt. He just wanted to spend time around the other boy, getting a little beat up wasn't the worst that could happen. "Yah sure yo? You still got the whole plane tah clean."
"Don't vorry! I've vashed the jet alone before, I can do it again! And I don't vant to risk you around any more chemicals today... But... Thanks for your help! I really appreciate you coming." It was taking every muscle in Kurt's body straining to keep him from embracing Todd. He just looked too verdammt cute! And a little sad... But still really cute! (On the other side of the building, having a beer in the kitchen, Logan's nose wrinkled as he smelled a huge hormone flair-up.)
Todd gave a sigh, feeling slightly rejected at Kurt's decision. "'Kay yo. See you at school then I guess." He started to walk past the other mutant, but at the last moment he turned around and came back. Grabbing Kurt's shoulders, he pressed his lips against the other boys.
When their lips parted, Kurt's heart melted. He leaned forward, and wrapped his arms around Todd's back. He relished the feeling of the warm body against his skin, and pressed a fuzzy cheek to the other boy's neck. He didn't want to let go, but he knew the time for a good-bye hug had long elapsed. When he stepped back, they were at the brotherhood house. "Yeah, see you... I'll.. I'll vash your shirt and give it back tomorrow, okay?" Kurt smiled. Even though today vas vone of the worst days of my life... I still can't think of it that vay... Because of you...
Todd applauded himself for making quite possibly the best decision of the day. The feeling of Kurt's soft lips responding to his own felt like heaven on earth, and when it ended, he could still feel his heart beat fast as Kurt's warm face-fur made contact with his neck. Todd closed his eyes for a moment, trying to take in the moment, when the smell of sulfur and the feeling of just getting off of a roller coaster hit him. He staggered against his partner for a moment, just managing to regain his balance just as Kurt moved away. Hearing Kurt's final goodbye, he tried to think of what else he should say. "'K-kay Fuzzy. Sorry fo' the mess I caused, what wit' you gettin' grounded an' stuff. Forgive me?"
Kurt grinned, a real one this time. "Of course! I'd do it again in a heartbeat." He waved one last time, then was gone in a poof.
Todd let out a happy sigh, things had gone from bad to good to bad and somehow managed to end on good. He began to walk towards the house when it hit him. Not only was he wearing a new sweater, damp from a shower, and had cuts all over his face (which Pietro would no doubt ask about all of those…) but he had never told Rogue to not tell Kurt about his scars.
Today was most definitely not ending well, not anymore.
Later, Kurt was just finishing up the waxing--jobs went a lot quicker what you had something good to think about-- when someone entered. "Kurt... Ah need to talk to ya about somethin'..." Rogue didn't usually approach Kurt out of the blue, and her voice sounded... strangely concerned...