The Best-friending Sessions

Author: Carla, aka cali-chan.
Rating: PG.
Genre: Friendship/fluff... like two seconds of drama...
Pairings: Mentions of Kurt/Wanda and Bobby/Kitty, but... none really, it's more friendshippy than anything. You might catch some other hints if you squint. It wasn't my intention, though xD

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolverine & the X-men, much less X-men overall (-sobs- ;3;). It is property of Marvel, Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, et al.

Warnings: Spoilers up to ep. 18, "Backlash." Chronologically, this happens about a day after ep. 17, "Code of conduct."

Summary: Kurt is back with the team. You'd think Kitty would be happy about that. Then why is she giving him the silent treatment?

Notes: I swear, this thing went up and down so much that you could almost call it bipolar, haha. I wasn't going for drama, I meant for it to be pure fluff, but the drama wormed its way into the fic. Ugh. Stupid, pointless thing. -shakes head-

The tell-tale BAMF sound announced his presence even before his voice did, and effectively neither of the girls was startled by his sudden appearance in the kitchen. "Guten Abend, Damen," he greeted as he crossed the doorway.

Rogue, who was pulling a few glasses down from the cupboards and setting them down on the countertop, replied in kind. Across the room, Kitty was half-phased into the refrigerator, half her torso and her legs sticking out of it. She paused for a second when she heard his voice, then continued on as if she hadn't heard him at all. Kurt noticed this, but did not comment. Instead, he turned to Rogue with a curious expression. "Are we having a party?"

"Nope, just a movie night," Rogue replied, turning around with the glasses to leave them closer to Kitty. The brunette, apparently deciding she'd have a better angle to whatever she was looking for if she actually opened the fridge, phased back out and dug in sans ability, continuing the search. Rogue turned to Kurt with a chuckle. "Tildie wanted to catch some animated feature, and Kit and I decided to watch it with her. Just in case there's anything that might scare her in it. You know, don't want her having any nightmares or anything," she explained. She crossed her arms and regarded him with a similar curious look. "So, where've you been? You missed all the action."

He frowned at that implication on her last phrase. "I was just... checking in on some people," he replied, dismissively. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kitty pulling out a gallon of apple juice and getting some ice from the icebox. "What do you mean, action? What happened?"

Rogue shrugged. "Long story," she answered. Turning around so she could grab a glass for Kurt, she elaborated on it. "Some weird samurai guy with a grudge against Logan kidnapped all of us to lure him into a fight." She offered him the glass. "You want in?"

He accepted it with a quiet ja. "That does not sound like a long story," he quipped. Of course, the X-men, especially Logan, had an uncanny ability to get themselves in trouble, so it was not strange to hear about this turn of events happening while he was away from the premises.

Rogue shrugged again. "I'm sure Logan can fill you in on the details. We were unconscious for most of it, anyway."

He nodded his understanding. He then cautiously turned towards Kitty, who was putting the three full glasses onto a small tray. "Keety, could you please--" SLAM, the refrigerator door was shut forcefully, and the brunette promptly stalked out of the room, as quiet as she'd been through the whole conversation. "--pass me the juice." He sighed. "I guess that means nein."

Rogue smiled at him, a bit amused. "Still ticked off at you, huh?"

"Ja," Kurt replied dejectedly, staring in the direction Kitty had taken on her way out. He didn't understand the reason, but Kitty had been giving him the silent treatment ever since he finally came back to the team after being kidnapped by Mojo. From their encounter previous to that, he would've thought she would be happy that he was back, but her behavior was instead telling him that his presence bothered her for some reason. "I just wish I knew what I did to make her mad."

Rogue patted his shoulder, trying to be of some comfort. He wasn't the only one bothered by the situation: everybody who paid any attention had noticed the tension between Kurt and Kitty, and they all wished they could resolve their differences. They were usually great friends; it was a bit unnerving to see them not speaking to each other. And a rift in the team was definitely not what they needed in times like these. "Listen, I can't be really sure, but... I think I've been where she is now. She'll come around, I'm sure. Just... try to talk to her, maybe." He patted her hand back, acknowledging her words with some hope in his eyes. "Okay, let's go watch the movie then. Hey, you think you can crack a few jokes here and there? Tildie finds it funny and it would normally be Bobby who does it, but Hank said he's still got a mild concussion from the fall he took when he was kidnapped, so he went to bed early."

Kurt laughed as they walked towards the rec room, assuring her that he would try his best to keep die Mädchen entertained. They heard Kitty saying something to the little girl, but she promptly went quiet as they entered the room. She was sitting on one side of the couch, next to Tildie, who was in the middle seat. Kurt hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to seat on the single seat, that is, as far away from the brunette as possible.

Rogue, sensing the awkwardness, let out a really fake-sounding gasp. "Oh, that's right, I forgot!" Turning to the youngest in the room, she extended a hand. "Hey, Tildie, wanna help me make some popcorn?" The girl nodded and got up from the couch, taking Rogue's hand. "We'll be right back, y'all. It'll just be a second."

She all but pushed Tildie out of the room, and was enough non-subtle in her haste that Kitty looked up and glared at her retreating figure. Then she got up from her seat and, studiously ignoring Kurt, went to fiddle with the DVD player, inserting the disc and tinkering with the audio settings.

He watched her as she worked on this task, thinking what he could say. Certainly that was Rogue's intention on leaving them alone, that they talked out their issues, but it was easier said (or heavily implied, in Rogue's case) than done. He was aware that an adult man should not feel so apprehensive about starting a conversation with a girl almost eight years his junior, but Kitty was a special case. He cared about her very much. Back before the professor and Jean... disappeared... she had been one of his closest friends; perhaps even the best, if he were to categorize friendship like that. He wanted to clear the air with her, and he wanted the words to come out right.

"Uh, Keety--"

"You left."

The sound of her voice startled him as much as her actual words did. He had expected he'd have to put in quite a bit of groveling before she would relent-- as far as he remembered, that had been how things were with her. And him leaving? He had only been away from the mansion for a couple of days... "Was?"

She sighed and repeated her words, this time turning around to meet his confused gaze, for the first time in what felt like weeks. "You left." He frowned at her expression. He had expected anger, indignation, of course, but he could see in her eyes that she was truly hurt.

But he didn't understand why. Did it have anything to do with their kidnapping by that samurai? "But... Kätzchen... I was only out for a little while, and I let all of you know in advance... I wish that I could have been here when you were in trouble, but I didn't know. If that is what is bothering you, then I am really sorry..."

"No, I didn't mean this time--" she interrupted him, then shook her head, as if clearing it. "Well, yes, but... no, not really. I meant after... the explosion." She frowned at that, almost like she was mad at herself for bringing the topic up. She quickly got up and went to sit back on the couch, propping her feet up on the seat, arms wrapping around them, so she could rest her chin on her knees. She fixed her big hazel eyes on him and for a second he could almost see the expressive pre-teen she'd been when she first arrived at the Institute, the one who had taken offense at being teased.

However, this was no childish tantrum. This was a young woman who was very dear to him, that was deeply hurt, and he wanted to do what he could to alleviate her pain. "I am sorry, Keety. I thought... well, Scott was a mess, Logan quickly took off and... I never wanted to leave the team, but it... disbanded. There was nothing left here."

"Well it's nice to know I'm nothing to you," she cut him off again, her tone full of true resentment that seemed extraneous to such a sweet person.

"Ack, es tut mir Leid, Kätzchen, that... did not come out right." What had he been thinking just a little while ago about choosing his words correctly? He shook his head, inching closer to the armrest almost unconsciously. "You were so upset... so was I. So was everybody. And then everybody started leaving... you left to go back to your parents'..."

"It was too hard, being here," she interjected, almost in a whisper.

"Ja, it was," he nodded, agreeing. "It was as hard for me as it was for you. But I thought, the team may have been gone, but I was still an X-man. There were still people out there that I could help. So that's what I decided to do." He 'ported to the couch, the opposite side she was sitting on. She was not disturbed by his sudden move in the slightest; in fact, she seemed to be expecting it. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, Liebchen, but you know I would have," he continued, his voice as sincere as it could be.

She bit her lower lip, regarding him steadily. "I would've stayed if you had," she affirmed, her tone certain and unyielding. This, for her, was a fact. The words hit him hard; he wasn't quite sure how to answer to that. Was she letting him know she cared? Was she blaming him? Luckily enough she didn't give him a chance to reply, as she continued speaking. "See, that's the thing, Kurt. Out of all of us... even Jean or Scott, all of us, we want to believe in the Professor's ideals. We hope it'll happen someday, and we try our best to help. But you're the only person I know who really, truly, believes it will happen." She looked to the side, towards the floor. "And whenever I felt that I had doubts, or fears, I could look to you and it would help. It gave me strength, the fact that you really believe. You never let anything bring you down, away from the dream." She shrugged as best she could in her current position. "I could try to be like that."

He chuckled, a bit amused. "I'm flattered, Kätzchen, but I am not as strong as you think I am."

She snorted, looking up at him with a kind of cynical amusement. "Well, obviously you can't say that about yourself. You are. You're just too damn humble to see it."

Kurt didn't know whether he should feel praised or insulted. Whichever it was, there was a bigger point to make. He inched closer to her. "I did not give up on the dream, Keety." He sighed. "How could I? The professor was one of the first persons who really saw me. He saw me as something more than a furry, tailed freak of nature. He saw me as something more than a set of abilities he could use to get something. He saw me as a human being, as a person. He taught me that I have something to contribute, just by being me. And that is not something I can just... forget."

There was silence for a few seconds, in memory of their current coma-inflicted mentor, and the pain they had both felt when they thought he was dead. Unknowingly, his tail moved to wrap around his denim-clad legs, as if in a hug. Kitty sniffled.

"I left because I was... confused," he admitted, after a while. Kitty put a hand on his elbow, where it bended, for his arms were crossed. "You may think I am so strong, but I'm just human, Kätzchen. I also feel scared, and I also have doubts. And at that moment, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to still fight the fight, but I couldn't do it on my own. So I had to step away and figure it out by myself."

She nodded, biting her lip lightly. "I think... it would've been easier if you had let us help. Even if we were just as confused, we would've helped. We're friends, friends help each other." She tightened the hold on his arm in a comforting gesture. "But still... I understand."

"Then why are you still angry with me?" he wondered, curiously. She had said it was because he left...

She answered him straight-out. "I'm not. Not because of that, at least; in fact, I did the same thing. You know, when Logan and Hank found me, I was on a ship to Genosha, too," she said in an airy tone, like one comments on the weather. Then she frowned. "Only I was planning to stay there. The idea of a haven for mutants was so appealing at that moment. I can't believe I was so desperate to leave it all behind, that I would go running to Magneto," she added, her tone bitter.

He shook his head, moving to sit towards his side, so he could look at her directly. "Don't blame yourself. It's normal to want to get away from the pain."

"Yeah, well, doesn't make me feel much better," she admitted in a mutter. "But at least I'm back where I belong now." She poked at his shoulder with one finger. "I was really happy when I found out that you were helping mutants get to Genosha safely." She smiled warmly at him. "It felt like the Kurt I used to know, my Kurt, was still out there."

He gave her his characteristic lopsided, fanged grin, about to make some smart-alecky comment as was his MO, when she continued speaking. "At least, until you ditched us so you could stay in Genosha to be with your new girlfriend." The way she emphasized that last word was not lost on him, and the glare she threw him was so disappointed that he almost cringed. Then she stood up abruptly and crossed her arms, her back to him.

That's what she was really angry about? He groaned and leaned back against the couch's backrest. "Wanda is not my girlfriend," he stated, for what felt like the eighty-seventh time. And if the words came out infused with a small amount of bitterness, well, he would deny that as well.

"And thank goodness for that," she exclaimed, gesturing with her arms. She turned towards him again, still glaring. "Or we might not have seen your face ever again!" Her hands went to her hips. Okay, this was definitely what she was really angry about.

He frowned. It seemed a very petty thing to be upset over. She was generally above such issues. "Well, I said I would come back and I did."

"Only because Genosha turned out to be a bust!" She started pacing, dismissively kicking aside the case for the DVD she had been setting up a while ago. "If it had been half as good as advertised, you would've stayed there forever."

Now he was beginning to feel unjustly attacked. "You're being unfair. I wanted to help other mutants have a better life," he said defensively, also standing up. His tail swished widely behind him, from side to side.

She scoffed. "Right. And tell me again, how many times did you see those kids, after the ship got to Genosha?" Actually, he had no answer to that. Okay, so perhaps he had gotten a little sidetracked-- but in his defense, he'd been imprisoned in a metal sphere half the time. "I'm sorry, weren't you too busy getting dressed up in fancy clothes and going to silly concerts? Living the dream, huh."

Why, he couldn't-- the absolute hipocrisy! "You just said you had also run away to Genosha to live a good life!" he exclaimed with a disbelieving gasp.

She reacted similarly, seemingly beffudled by the fact that he would dare throw her insecurities back in her face. "Because I was having an identity crisis due to the fact that my mentor had just been blown up!" she retorted with disdain. "You wanted to get into Magneto's daughter's pants!"

There was silence then. A long silence. Not an awkward silence, not really; it was more of a tense, out-of-breath, i-dare-you-to-open-your-mouth sort of silence, where each of them went over the argument in their heads, wondering how exactly things had escalated to this point. Hadn't this been about emotional catharsis just a few minutes ago? And now they found each other trying to figure out which card, if any, they could pull out next. Surely to an outsider, this quick a mood switch would be nothing short of astounding. And...

...And then Kurt started to laugh.

It started out as a series of very light chuckles, quickly evolving into a full pointy-canines-showing cackle. Seeing his companion's "what the heck?" expression made it immediately progress onto the doubled-over, stomach-hurts, can't-catch-my-breath stage. After a few more seconds he was laughing so hard that he actually tripped on his own tail and fell backwards onto the couch (a massive indication of how hilarious he found the situation, especially considering he was a trained acrobat and was well-known around the mutant community for having a fantastic sense of balance).

Tears were streaming from his eyes onto the delicate fur of his cheeks, and this was about the moment Kitty went back to glaring at him. "It's not funny," she sentenced dryly, when she could finally get a word in edgewise, above his loud guffaws.

"Actually, it..." More laughter. "It really is," he chortled. He was trying to get his mirth under control, but just one look at her face made him start laughing all over again.

"It's not!" she tried to sound harsher, but seeing him squirm around in an attempt to calm himself, she couldn't really get the tone right. He was mumbling random phrases in German, too-- like he wasn't getting enough oxygen for his brain to be able to translate-- and she would be sure to remind him of those afterwards.

"It..." One more deep breath in, and he felt he was able to talk properly now. He shook his head and, feeling dizzy still, leaned back against the couch. "It is!" he said, the exhalation heavy as a wheeze. He was completely lightheaded but oh, was that worth it. He closed his eyes and let his breaths come in and out evenly, a more than satisfied smile adorning his mouth.

Seeing him hanging limply off the couch like an overgrown, blue, fuzzy beanie baby, she couldn't help a few chuckles of her own. "Okay, maybe it was a little funny," she admitted reluctantly, but with an amused sparkle still present in her eyes. She plopped down on the couch beside him and giggled lightly. "Fine," she rolled her eyes at him when he grinned triumphantly in her direction. "But I still can't believe you ditched us for a girl," she added, bumping his shoulder with hers.

He shrugged and then let his eyes wonder in the general direction of their flat-screen TV, as if pondering something deep. "If you think about it, what other choice did I have? It was the only upside to being stalked by a crazy alien... thing." She narrowed her eyes at him and he immediately jumped to correct himself. "Of course, it was a most grievous mistake on my part. Will you ever forgive me for it, Kätzchen?" he added with his most dramatic afflicted expression as he wrapped an arm around Kitty's shoulders, drawing her to him.

She once again gave him the narrowed eyes, seemingly suspicious. "Where were you these past few days? Were you with her?"

He rolled his eyes at her insistence. "I was at the ports. Trying to spread the word about Genosha." She raised her eyebrows as if asking for further confirmation, and he quickly lifted up his three-fingered right hand. "I was, I swear."

Apparently, she decided that he was being honest, so she relaxed. She flicked his tail off with her fingers, as it was twirling wildly between them. Not hard, just enough to teasingly push it aside, although he did let out a small noise of complaint, just to be annoying. "I guess I'll have to forgive you, then," she sighed, mock-resigned. "Just don't leave us again, okay?" She rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't leave me again," she added, almost in a whisper.

"I won't," he assured her just as softly.

She smiled. "For what it's worth... I really missed you," she admitted, tightening her hold on him.

"I missed you too, Schatz," he replied, looking around the room from above the top of her head. "I missed all of this. Genosha might be considered a paradise for mutants-- the nice part of it, at least-- but it doesn't feel like home. Not like this place does." He couldn't pinpoint why and he doubted he ever would, but the Xavier Institute held a warmth that he hadn't felt in any other place in the world. "If there's one thing I learned from the time I spent on my own, it's that I'm an X-man. That will never change. This is where I belong."

"That's very true," she said, in a matter-of-fact tone, that was a bit too serious not to be hiding laughter. "I mean, now that you've been kicked out of Genosha, who else would have you?" She shook her head, then smirked at him. "Guess we're stuck with you."

"Such is your good fortune," he replied, with a wink. He leaned back against the backrest, closed his eyes, and smirked. "So, what is this I hear about you and our resident ice cube?" Kitty lifted her head off his shoulder with a small gasp and glared at him. He opened one eye and tsk-ed. "Bobby Drake, eh? I guess you could have done worse," he added in a teasing tone.

She glared at him, then smirked as well. "Wanda Maximoff, huh? I wish I could say you could've done worse," she shot back, in the exact same tone he had used. She even tried the accent, but didn't quite get it right; "Maximoff" was too much of a mouthful to say by itself, let alone with a Bavarian accent.

However badly it came out, it made him laugh. "Ja, ich verstehe es. You don't like Wanda. I'll keep it in mind." He shrugged dismissively. "She really wasn't my girlfriend, though." If his tail drooped low when he said this, they both ignored it.

"But she kissed you," she was quick to point out.

He gaped at her words. "You wouldn't think someone like the Wolverine would be such a gossip, but there you have it." He shook his head, in comic disbelief. "Unglaublich." She laughed at that.

"Wow, no heads rolling. I take it one best-friending session was enough?" came Rogue's southern-accented voice from the doorway. They both turned to see her walk in, hair down and in her sleeping clothes. She leaned against the handrest of the single seat Kurt had vacated a while ago, cocking her head at them. "Did you two finally sort out whatever it was?"

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." She stood up and stretched her legs, which were asleep from being propped up on the couch for such a long while. "Did you get the popcorn ready? I've got the movie set up, just gotta hit play."

Rogue dismissed the thought with a hand gesture. "Nah, don't bother, Tildie's already asleep. Y'all took too long figuring out your issues." She yawned. "Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna hit the sack as well. See you guys tomorrow." Kitty gave her a quiet "bye" and Kurt waved at her as she walked out of the living room.

Kitty picked up the DVD case from the floor (she found it half hidden behind a bookshelf, though she couldn't remember having kicked it that hard), and moved to turn off the player, but then thought better of it. "Say, Mr. Wagner, would you like to watch the movie anyway? Even if it's only the two of us," she quipped as she plopped down on the couch again, looking around for the remote. He agreed, and she hit play.

"Wait, what movie is it, again? There aren't any aliens in it, right...?"

"It's an animated feature."

"Still..."

"You're such a wuss, Fuzzy."

.

Epilogue-- A couple of days later...

"Well, Forge has to come," Logan muttered, more to himself than to his current companions, as they went over their plan for tomorrow's infiltration to take down Master Mold and the Sentinel assembly line. Kurt paid close attention. Scott didn't listen as closely-- their actual strategy was already clear enough, now they were just assessing the logistics. "We'll need a new babysitter for the kid," the Wolverine grunted, thinking of Tildie and how it was better she not be left alone.

"Kitty or Kurt will do, we only need one of them to get us in," Scott muttered dismissively.

"I'd rather take Wagner here. The girl is good, but it's not just short-circuiting the machines, we have to destroy them," the new leader of the X-men continued his mutterings. Kurt nodded at that, accepting his mission. Then he saw Logan frown. "Hmm. Someone's gonna have to tell Shadowcat that she's staying behind."

The blue teleporter had begun inching back as soon as he saw the intention in the feral man's eyes. "Hey, Elf, you and Pryde are all buddy-buddy again, right? Think you can--"

Kurt started shaking his head emphatically before Logan had even finished the phrase. "Oh, nein. Nein nein," he repeated, just for good measure. He had already spent two weeks in Kitty's blacklist, and he was not eager at all to wind up back in the doghouse. There was no way he was telling her they were leaving her. Nope, not him. "A hundred sentinels are probably less of a threat. Sorry, mein freund, you'll have to find another messenger."

Scott laughed. "Scared of a teenage girl, Kurt?"

Kurt nodded. "Ja. You have no idea, Herr Summers," he added in a half-amused tone. "I'm going now, I think I hear someone calling me."

Logan scoffed at his obvious bluff. "I didn't hear nothing, Elf."

"Ah, perhaps it was Frau Frost--" That was as much of a warning as he gave them, before teleporting out of the War room with a loud BAMF and a cloud of brimstone.

"Sneaky li'l bastard," Logan muttered, not really mad but annoyed, as he tried to clear the air around him by waving his hand. With a grunt, he turned to Cyclops, who was in a similar position, even coughing a bit. "So, Summers--"

"Oh no, you're not pinning this one on me either," Scott snorted. Logan narrowed his eyes at him, but before he could browbeat the taller man into it, Scott wisely turned his back to him and started walking out. "You're on your own with this, man."

Logan glared at his retreating back and grunted. Hm. Bunch of wusses.