Kurt stumbled, and Kevin reached out, grabbing his hand. He smiled down at him, but it turned into a wince halfway through. From her position by his other side Emma gave out a frustrated sigh.
"You were horsing around in the car, and now you're having trouble walking," she said, "Great."
"Sorry," Kurt mumbled.
"You're not sorry," said Emma, "and I should've known better than to put you in the middle seat."
"What's wrong with the middle seat?" asked Laura, looking worriedly at her aunt.
Emma shot Scott a look, who rubbed the back of his neck.
"Someone forgot to tell me that was the jolty one," she said.
"It's not usually that bad," Scott said, "It's the road."
"Mmmhm."
Kevin felt Kurt's grip increase on his hand, and spotted an empty bench in the waiting room.
"Maybe we should sit down?" he suggested, "I know Carly said she'd be back with Hank soon, but we have time to rest, right?"
Emma's eyes scanned over Kurt, and gave a sharp nod. Kevin helped Kurt down, and he saw his cousin smile in relief. Cousin. The word felt odd in his mind and on his tongue. His mother was an only child, and her first husband hadn't had any siblings either. They'd probably have been bastards too if he had.
His Uncle Levine was the only uncle he had, and even he wasn't technically his uncle. Again though, he didn't have children, so that meant no cousins. Even when he'd been told Raven was his father's sister, making her his aunt, there hadn't been any cousins. She hadn't been a particularly attentive aunt anyway, and he felt more comfortable with his parents than with her.
All that had changed when Kurt had been shot. Suddenly everyone was telling him Kurt was really Raven's son. It floored him, because how had no one known this? After that initial thought had worn off, he'd realized something else: he had a cousin.
Kevin had been fine with not having any cousins before, but he wondered if it was the same kind of fine that he'd been when he didn't have a father. Not having cousins had never been a conscious decision though, never a severing of a tie. They, after all, had never existed.
But this was Kurt, one of the first mutants he'd seen. This was Kurt, Peter's German friend, the one who made jokes and stammered whenever Amanda kissed his cheek. Kurt was fun, Kurt was nice. Kurt would be a great cousin.
And now Kurt was struggling to get over his injury. Looking nervous, Laura crept up and put her cards down on the bench next to them.
"I need to go real quick," she said, "I'll be back."
"You are not going anywhere by yourself," said Emma.
"I gotta go."
"And where do you have to go exactly?"
Laura shuffled her feet, looking at the ground.
"I gotta, you know," she said.
Although he tried not to draw too much attention to Laura, she was obviously embarrassed, Kevin felt like rolling his eyes. Seriously, Emma hadn't told her it was okay to ask to go to the bathroom?
It wasn't a big deal, especially with a cousin whose injuries were bothering him, but it really was just frustration on top of frustration. It just seemed like it was going to be forever until he saw his mom.
"Fine, I'll take you," Emma said.
"No..." said Laura, taking a step back, "I don't wanna slow you down."
Immediately, Kevin felt guilt weighing down on him. She was the one who had suggested this trip after all, mentioned the possibility of visiting his mother. Now, in return, he was being a total jerk about everything, even if it only was in his head.
"Go ahead," he said, "Kurt needs to rest anyway."
Laura blinked at him, her eyes big and blushing. Emma took her by the hand and pointed at Scott.
"You are going to go get Kurt a soda," she said, "And you're paying for it."
"What?" asked Scott, "Why?"
"I am fine-" tried Kurt.
"It's Scott's broke-ass car that got us into this situation," she said, "And, right now, I'll have to tell Amanda I did a terrible job of taking care of her boyfriend because of you. Therefore, you pay for the soda."
She turned around, all but dragging Laura away. Ruffling the back of his hair, Scott gave them an apologetic smile.
"Anyone want a candy bar while I'm at it?" he asked.
"Nein," Kurt said.
"No thanks."
Scott shrugged and walked away. Kurt sighed and leaned his head against the wall.
"I am sorry," he said, "I shouldn't haf come. I just vanted to make sure everyzing vas alright, but you could haf told me."
"Don't be sorry," said Kevin, "You've got more of a right to be here than Emma or Scott."
"But not Laura?" Kurt asked.
For some reason, the question made him frown and blush.
"She came up with the idea," said Kevin, "I thought I'd have to wait longer, til maybe my dad could take me. She came up with it, and she just wants to be nice. It'd be rude to leave her behind."
"Ja, I am sure," Kurt said.
His cousin grinned and Kevin could count all of his fangs. He suddenly realized what it was Kurt was implying, the same thing his father had teased him about. Kevin flushed and looked down at his shoes, trying to think of anything clever he could say.
So he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"When are you and Amanda gonna have babies?" he blurted.
Kurt spluttered and drew back, perhaps rethinking his teasing. Kevin discovered he was grinning too. He liked it.
"You are too young to know about zat," Kurt said, his face turning purple.
"I have a baby brother on the way," said Kevin, "I know all about that. Mom explained when she found out she was pregnant."
Somehow, Kurt managed to turn even more purple. Kevin wondered if Kurt knew how babies were made, although him not knowing didn't make that much sense. He was so much older than him.
Still, he decided to test it out.
"See, when two people love each other very much-" he began.
"Zat ist enough of zat," Kurt said, his hand clapping down hard on Kevin's shoulder, "Ja. Enough."
Kevin laughed.
"I was almost done," he said, "I don't see what's so embarrassing about it. It's pretty simple."
The purple started to recede from Kurt's face, replaced by a quiet kind of thoughtfulness.
"So, you zink babies are made vhen two people love each other," he said, "And...?"
"And what?" asked Kevin.
Kurt suddenly smiled at him and Kevin felt indignant.
"What's wrong?" he snapped.
"Nozing," Kurt said, "No, zat ist right. Zat ist right."
"What don't I get?" Kevin asked, "What am I missing?"
"Tell you vhen you're older," said Kurt.
Kevin leaned back on the bench, frustrated, and Kurt laughed. As he did, Kevin took a minute to study him. He bit his lip.
"Are you...is this what an older brother's supposed to do?"
Almost like flipping a light switch, Kurt stopped laughing. He stared at him with blood-colored eyes, and Kevin looked down at his hands.
"I wanna be a good one," he said, "I've wanted it for a really long time...but...the um, the other guy..."
The other guy. It sounded silly. He needed a word to describe the man who'd given him his genes that wasn't that and wasn't 'father.' Even thinking of him as his mother's first husband was wrong. Every time he reminded himself that he was connected to the man who'd broken his ribs and put her in the hospital, he felt filthy.
"I wouldn't want him to be connected to my brother," said Kevin, "And he doesn't have to be now, and that's awesome. But I never even had friends until a few months ago, and I mean, I wanna do a good job, but there's so much to learn."
"Kevin-"
"And I've felt his love," said Kevin, "He loves me so much already, and I don't wanna let him down..."
"Kevin," said Kurt, laughing.
He looked up. Kurt was smiling again.
"You love him, ja?" said Kurt.
"Yeah," Kevin said.
A three-fingered hand wrapped around his shoulder.
"Zen you vill do good," said Kurt, "Love is alvays a good foundation. Everyzing else comes after."
Kevin leaned back further, a deep ache starting in his chest. He wished he'd had more time to be cousins with Kurt. It felt like he'd been given so much family in a rush, and that was good, but he wanted more time, even just to hold the amazing moments that fluttered in his life.
But, every time something amazing happened, something bad happened. It felt like it was all getting mired, choked, and, sometimes, he didn't know what to do.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
Kevin looked up at the doctor who was giving them a cold look. He shuffled and Kurt looked up too, smiling with his lips closed.
"Ja," he said, "Um, mein aunt is a patient here."
"Then wait outside," he said.
Kurt winced, and Kevin felt his eyes narrow. They'd just come in from outside. What was he talking about?
"We're just here for five minutes," Kurt said, "Und I zink somevone is coming for us-"
"I told you to wait outside," the doctor said, "I don't want you scaring our normal patients."
Kevin stared, something deep sparking. Normal patients? He glanced at Kurt, trying to see what it was that the doctor was seeing. And yes, he did see the blue highlights, the indigo skin. He saw the red eyes and fangs, the tail swishing on the floor.
And he also saw his cousin.
"I said-"
"I don't want you treating my mom," said Kevin, "Stupid people make her angry, and she needs to rest."
The doctor stared at him, and Kevin felt a curl of pleasure at his expression.
"Wait. Outside," the doctor said, gritting his teeth.
"No," Kevin said, "You go wait outside."
"Kevin-" started Kurt.
"You have five minutes to get your toddler under control or I'm calling security," the doctor said.
"I'm nine," Kevin said, "You're even stupider than you look. How are you even a doctor?"
The doctor's face was glowing, and Kevin saw him touch his pager. Would he really call security? No. Kevin wasn't about to let him, not when he could stop him. Could he maybe jerk it out of his hand? If he wanted to be subtle, maybe he could just give him a migraine, one that made even his toes hurt.
His fingertips curled in. Kurt was moving protectively in front of him, but Kevin didn't need to be protected. He could handle himself, and idiots like this needed to be taught they couldn't do this. They couldn't just take something from people for no reason, people who were just trying to enjoy their lives, be with those they cared about.
And he could teach it to them.
"Listen you little shit-"
"Is something wrong with you?"
Kevin turned. Carly was walking up the hall, her cane clicking furiously on the floor. Hank was right behind her, looking between everyone with intense eyes.
"You can't call people that," she said.
"Did you suddenly take over professional standards?" the doctor asked, "Or are you still stuck shuffling papers?"
"I shuffle enough to know you're not filing it right," Carly said, "Or on time. And while I may not be in charge of professional standards, I can, in fact, report you."
"How exactly?" he sneered, his eyes falling on her cane and glasses.
Hank tensed behind her, and Kevin felt himself draw up. He needed to calm himself, and focus. Then he could give the doctor a headache that would leave him curled up on a couch for days, moaning.
"Don't you know?" asked Carly, "They have Braille forms. I can actually write that faster than I can type, and I have excellent speeds. How else do you think I got hired?"
"Affirmative action?" he asked.
"Oh, never heard that one before," Carly said, "But, you can try me, if you want."
He sneered at her before walking away. Hank's eyes were hard on the man, his hands clenching into fists but it wasn't enough. The fury was building up inside Kevin, begging for a release, for the headache of the stupid doctor's life-
"Kevin...let's go see your mom. Just give me a minute."
He blinked and lost sight of the doctor. Instead, Hank was in front of him, looking at Carly strangely.
"I'm just...Carly...I can't believe he-"
"It wasn't the most creative thing I've been called," she said, her voice almost smooth, "I'll see you later."
She turned, her cane tapping on the floor once more. Hank looked after her before turning back to Kevin.
"Kurt, do you need to rest or-"
"Just a minute more," Kurt said, "Und...I should vait for ze ozzers, ja."
Hank nodded again. Kevin hopped off the bench and started walking, looking over his shoulder at Kurt.
He shouldn't have talked to you like that, Kevin said, You're worth eighty of him.
His cousin's red eyes met his, and then they turned the corner. Kevin didn't talk to Hank as he walked, the resonant rage simmering in his skin. Part of him was even angry at being told to go visit his mother, for losing his concentration.
But that wasn't fair, and he knew it. Tears built up in his eyes. He didn't want to have this thing growing inside of him. He wanted someone he could be angry at. He wanted things to be normal.
Hank opened a door to one of the rooms. His mother looked up from a book, her hair loose around her shoulders. One hand rested on her giant belly. She was radiant, healthy-looking. When she smiled, it was as though nothing was wrong at all in the world.
Kevin ran to her, embracing her side as hard as he could. She held him close, his face leaning against her belly. Almost absently he reached out, and felt a joyful wave come back. His brother was happy to see him.
And Kevin, for that moment, was happy too.
A/N: As some of you already know, I live in Florida. Hurricane Matthew will be affecting my area, so my internet might go out. I don't know for certain, but, just in case I can't post on my normal schedule, I wanted everyone to know that I hadn't forgotten. I'll try to keep my schedule as consistent as possible.