An evening in good company [Kurt, Maddie]

[maddy]

The red haired mutant was actually fussing a little as she waited for Kurt to arrive, frowning at her furniture as if she was unhappy with the placement and checking over her appearance nervously - though there was really no need for it. Madelyne knew she looked good, knew that her apartment was fine and that Kurt wasn't likely to come in anyway when he arrived to meet her, but she couldn't seem to help a little bubble of worry as she considered just why she'd asked him to meet her again.

It almost reminded her of when she was a teenager, when she'd been less confident and not quite developed - all knees and elbows and her extremely red hair - and she held out one hand with a vaguely distracted look on her face to bring a glass of wine over from the kitchen bench. The long sip settled her nerves a little and she reminded herself that she was a grown woman, perfectly capable of asking a man on a date, and if he said no she'd be able to get Kyle to go with her anyway. But she wasn't feeling particularly well disposed to the tall mutant that she worked for - he'd been very boring of late.

Still, as she reclined on the cream coloured leather couch, one hand tracing a pattern on the arm, she couldn't help but glance up at the time and feel another bubble of nervousness rise up.

He's not going to say no.

Madelyne took another sip of wine and stared vacantly at the television.

Kurt took a deep breath, looking at the door.

He'd gotten strange looks when he appeared in his usual trails of smoke outside Maddie's apartment building, which he'd seen when he dropped her off before. He hadn't been oblivious to the looks of surprise and disgust as he'd slipped along one side of the lobby to the elevators.

Speaking of which, he really needed to find a better way to move about in public.

All of that didn't shake his calm nearly as much as standing outside Maddie's apartment did. When she'd said she wanted to speak to him about something, he'd asked her where she wanted to meet, and he almost hadn't agreed when she asked him to pick her up at her apartment; too much could happen in a visit to such a place, and it had already been shown that even when they were behaving, he and Maddie had trouble behaving. However, he reasoned that he would pick her up and they would go somewhere else. Nothing to worry about.

Which was why he was worrying. Things were rarely that easy.

Releasing the breath, Kurt braced himself and knocked.

When the knock finally came, Maddie actually jumped in surprise, so lost in her own thoughts she'd become. Thankfully, she'd almost emptied her glass of wine, so she didn't spill that all over herself - she could just imagine. Setting her glass down on the coffee table, she grabbed a jacket - prepared this time for if they decided to go roof-hopping - and walked briskly to the door to pull it open.

"It's lovely to see you again." Madelyne refused to let any nervousness enter into the smile that she gave him. "I don't suppose you'd like to come in for a drink?" No, probably not - she knew as well as he that sitting in her apartment would be skirting dangerous territory. The difference was that Maddie was quite fond of that idea.

Nervousness may not have been on Maddie's features, but it was on Kurt's as his eyes flickered in at her apartment. He smiled to her cautiously before taking a step back, his long coat swaying with his steps. "Perhaps... later," he said slowly.

Although I wouldn't mind the drink, he thought with a sigh. Being so close to her private quarters made him much more tense than he wanted to be. He had grown to look at Maddie as a friend, and he wanted to be calm and relaxed around her, not his current jumpy state.

Calm, peaceful, tranquil. Not that it helped. He wasn't even this nervous on the trapeze.

"So... shall we go somewhere where we can talk?"

They could quite easily talk in her apartment, but somehow she didn't think that saying as much would help.

"Up on the roof, perhaps? That gives you an easy escape if need be, too." She couldn't help the gibe, but it was delivered with a smile, and Maddie motioned to the lift as she stepped out of the apartment, the door closing behind her with a click. Knowing that Kurt was feeling slightly jumpy himself - though for entirely different reasons - left Madelyne feeling a little better, and she gave him another quick smile as she led the way to the lift.

That they would be stuck in a confined space together, still on her turf in Maddie's mind, had nothing to do with it, of course.

"Have you heard of the Mutant Equality League, Kurt?"

Kurt couldn't help but laugh. "An easy escape, Madelyne? From you?" He looked at her evenly. "Is there such a thing?"

The roof. If anything, he would certainly feel more comfortable in the open air. And it wouldn't be as cold on the roof of her apartment building as on their other excursions so much farther from the ground.
"Very well, the roof it is."

Following her down the hallway, Kurt shrugged. "I have heard of them, though I know nothing about them."

"Well, they're not very interesting, to be honest, so there's not much to tell. Campaigning for equality - petitioning the government, giving legal aid, that kind of thing." Which probably left him wondering just why she'd brought them up.

Maddie waited until they were standing in the lift to tell him, her eyes fixed on the numbers above the door as it moved up slowly and her tone as casual as she could make it.

"They're having a fundraiser soon, raising money to help the victims of the Baltimore attack." That her public identity was very thoroughly not a mutant would have made things difficult were it not for the nature of the fundraiser. "A masquerade ball. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me."

Kurt's brow arched as she spoke. He had guessed the organization was something of the sort, but he wasn't one for politics and tended to know very little about groups that travelled in those circles.

In fact, he'd only heard about them from the invitation he had received to their ball, but he doubted that Maddie had called him out here specifically for that.

And yet, as the floors dinged past, he was surprised to hear that the ball was at least part of the reason he was here.

"I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me."

Kurt was taken aback. His head turned to look at her, as though expecting to see her struggling not to laugh, but she seemed to be having no trouble. Instead, she was focused on the moving numbers telling them where they were.

It was almost reminiscent of a proposal a student had given him once for a dance. A Shady Hawk dance, or something like it. Kurt had sent to student on to someone who could actually accept such a proposal, but the idea had stuck in his head.

"Did you say you want to go with me?"

She turned to look at him for a moment, wondering why he would want her to repeat herself. If she hadn't known what kind of man Kurt was, Maddie would have thought that he was simply enjoying the ego stroke. If anything, he seemed surprised. Perhaps he was already going with someone else, but she'd only received the invitation - for Kyle, of course, but she hadn't let that stop her from deciding to go herself - just the other day.

She raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

"I did say that I want to go with you. I even promise to behave myself the entire evening." Madelyne gave him another small smile before she directed her attention back to the numbers, watching as they approached the roof.

"Of course, if you're already going with someone else..." Slipping her jacket on, the telekinetic shrugged a little and tried to act as if she didn't care, stepping out of the lift when the doors finally slid open again.

She wasn't even sure why she did care. It was just a dance, and if she couldn't go with Kurt then she could surely go with somebody else. Or by herself, they weren't living in the dark ages after all. So why was she actually nervous about whether he'd accept or not?

Kurt's mouth opened and closed a bit as him mind worked. He'd received an invitation to the ball - everyone who was of age at the mansion had - but he hadn't even planned on attending. He still wasn't comfortable in public, and this would most likely be a newsworthy event in some way - and a mask did very little to hide who he was. Even a full-face mask.

Following her out of the lift as the doors opened, Kurt ran a hand through his hair. It took a moment for her words to filter in as his mind raced. "Oh! Ah... no, I am not going with anyone else."

Moving up the stairs to the roof, Kurt bit his bottom lip. Except for his issue with public places, there was no reason for him not to go. It was likely to be quite enjoyable, and no doubt Ororo would be attending with Forge, so going alone would just be too painful.

Besides, Maddie did promise to behave.

Something in the back of his mind said, How dull, before he managed to stop it, and he took a deep breath before saying, "Ja."

"Is that a 'Ja, I will go with you, Madelyne' or a 'Ja, that's right, I'm not going with anyone else', Kurt?" She could not help but feel a hint of amusement as she listened into his thoughts - she seemed to recall telling herself that she wouldn't do that so much anymore, but it was so entertaining at times.

The cool night air hit them as they emerged onto the roof, and Maddie gave him another small smile as she strode over toward the edge, to look out at the city - though the view was nowhere near as spectacular as she had grown accustomed to whilst standing with him.

"Of course, if you'd rather not go at all, that's fine. But I want to go, and I'd prefer for that to be with you." The smile grew, became amused. "The tail doesn't get in the way when you're dancing, does it?"

Kurt started slightly, his tail curling behind him. "Er... both, I suppose, Madelyne." He scratched his head and shifted his shoulders as they stepped onto the roof, his coat moving higher around his neck.

"That is to say... I would be delighted to attend the ball with you." He stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling the familiar heat rising under his collar as she spoke. He still wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to be seen in public with him - but she would be wearing a mask, so there was less danger of anyone recognizing her.

Waving his tail about behind him with a small smile, he joined her at the edge. "I have never had any trouble with it befo... ah... most of the time." He shrugged with embarrassment as he remembered his tail's antics at their last meeting.

"Wonderful." Her eyes flicked over to him as he joined her, and though she wanted to roll them and tell him that she'd be more than happy to be seen in public with him, because she thought he was beautiful - which should have been clear by now, surely - she just smiled and watched his tail.

"I'll be sure to wear long skirts then, so that it doesn't... get any ideas." Her head bowed a little, and Maddie glanced down at the short skirt that she was wearing at that moment. She looked back up at Kurt with an amused smirk.

"Hopefully we will both remember to behave. You'll have to keep a close eye out, Kurt." Whatever she decided to wear, Madelyne intended for it to be the kind of thing that would keep his attention.

Kurt's eyes followed hers and he felt the heat spread across his cheeks even as he chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness and embarrassment. He already knew that he was going to be on his best behavior, or as close to it as he and Maddie had ever managed to come, and part of him hoped that her choice of clothing was going to make that easier.

Somehow he doubted it.

"Unfortunately, it is not my eyes I am worried about, Madelyne," he smiled, his tail wrapping around his own ankle as though he was trying to consciously keep it out of trouble.

Glancing out at the city, he breathed deeply. "So, was there something else, or were you just bringing me here for my charming company?"

"Asking you to a ball isn't a good enough excuse to bring you all the way out here? Well, I'm sure I could think of something else... But for now I'll settle for just your charming company. Unless I can tempt you into dinner or a drink or something?" Maddie shrugged. Now that he'd accepted her offer she was feeling much more in her comfort zone.

"Or more sightseeing, though perhaps we've done enough of that to last a few weeks yet." She was trying to behave, at least. Even if Kurt did seem torn between liking her misbehaviour and disapproving of it. She knew that she liked his, and there was regret painted all over her features when she gazed down at his tail wrapped around his own ankle. What he called 'in trouble', Madelyne called 'much more interesting' - but of course he had to try to behave himself, he had a reputation to maintain.

Maddie wouldn't tell, though. That thought brought another smile to her face, but she hid it as she gazed out at the lights. Changing her mind suddenly, as she often did, the telekinetic turned away from the edge, leaning on the wall that kept them safely on the rooftop and looking out over the city in the opposite direction.

[maddy]

Kurt chuckled and leaned on the wall. He hadn't been to New York this frequently since he'd first arrived at the mansion. "I suppose dinner would not hurt... but do you know of anywhere I will not be looked at oddly?" Kurt glanced at her. "The only place I know of is the Gene Pool, and I doubt they serve food." Besides... that always leads interesting places. Kurt hadn't been drunk enough to do anything foolish since his teenage years, and he didn't plan on repeating that night again.

He missed her glance at his tail, letting it uncurl again as he focused back on the city. The sky was darkening, and the lights were slowly turning on again to face the dark. He sighed unconsciously, though he wouldn't have been able to say if it was from stress or relief, and rolled his shoulders, feeling the knots that bunched there. The Danger Room had turned out to be much more intense than he had ever imagined, and he could feel that same tension gathering in his back.

He looked over as Maddie turned around, facing the opposite direction. "So what do you propose?"

"No, I don't think they do." Madelyne tapped her bottom lip as she thought about it, her eyes gazing up at the sky and her lips moving just slightly as she ran through a list of places in her mind. "I don't think any of the other more openly mutant places that I know of serve food either." And she didn't know what Kurt would think of them - or what the mutants who populated them would think of him with his scars all over. They'd probably have a field day.

With a sigh, the redhead shook her head. "We could call for take-out." But he wouldn't go for that. "Let them look, Kurt. I don't care what people think." But he would, or at least he'd be the one getting the majority of the looks. She shook her head again.

"I guess dinner isn't such a good idea, then."

Kurt frowned, running through a list of restaurants in his head. All of those he'd heard about around the mansion were either too far for him to take Maddie or weren't openly friendly towards mutants. He growled with frustration.

And he could hear the same frustration in Maddie's voice too. He felt bad for the limitations his appearance placed on social activity, but it was just the nature of the beast. Biting his lower lip, he ran through all the ideas in his head.

Be daring, Kurt. What's the worst that could happen?

"I have an idea," he said, pushing off from the wall and stopping a few feet in front of Maddie. "Tonight we will each pick somewhere to go, no questions asked. I will choose first, and then it will be your turn. We can even take a cab so you will not have to tell me how to get there. Agreed?"

"Anywhere I like. No questions asked?" She couldn't help but give him an extremely warm - and extremely amused - grin. He should have known better than to make open ended deals with her like that - Maddie couldn't imagine that Kurt would be taking her anyplace that would have her feeling particularly uncomfortable. The options on her end were almost limitless, though.

"You have yourself a deal, Mr. Wagner." Still wearing that amused smile, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, her mind running over the possibilities for the evening. She knew that she should probably behave herself, not take him anywhere too out-there, or even to one of her less risqué haunts where his obvious mutation would make him stand out - but she'd save her decision for after the trip to wherever it was that he wanted to go.

"Though I must say that I much prefer traveling this way to taking a cab." Well, she wasn't perfect even when she was making some effort to behave herself.

Kurt returned her smile, not really worried about the possibilities. After all, she'd only been in New York a short while, and things had changed in the city; how many mutant-friendly places could she know?

"I prefer this to a cab as well, Madelyne. There is less chance of gum on the bottoms of your feet this way." With that, he focused and they were gone.

They appeared outside the same little bakery Kurt had teleported past on their last excursion, but this time Kurt looked around and pulled back from Maddie, opening the door to the small shop. "We have arrived."

He was so innocent sometimes. Not to mention that appearing in an unknown place suddenly surely held just as much danger as getting into a cab. But she just smiled once more and waited for the telltale bamf!

Maddie hadn't actually seen the little bakery the last time they'd been there - she had a tendency to close her eyes while they teleported, just in case (she was curious, but not curious enough to want to know where they went before they reappeared) - but she smiled at the sight. Not quite dinner, but it would definitely do for now.

"Wonderful. I don't suppose they do chocolate croissants." The redhead was a fiend for chocolate croissants, although she was well aware that they weren't likely to be the kind of thing that actually existed outside of a certain few bakeries. It was a good thing too, she reflected, thinking about what was in them, that she got plenty of exercise.

Stepping into the small store, Madelyne looked around at the selection with a few slight nods every now and again.

"I still think take-out would be a good idea, and something nice from here for dessert... But I won't waste my half of the deal on asking you to take me back home. Well, not for dinner at any rate." The smile she gave him was slightly cheeky. If he hadn't realised yet that she was going to take full advantage of the opportunity this presented, he would very soon.

Kurt chuckled as she walked around, closing the door behind him. "I do not believe they have those here, but there is quite a large selection to choose from."

Kurt smiled at her joke, leaning on the counter and calling to kitchen in the back in German. "Birgit! Kommen Sie hier, bitte!"

He turned to the doorway as a small, plump woman in her 60's trundled out of the kitchen swiftly, wiping flour-covered hands on her apron. She had a bright smile on her round face, cheeks rosy from the heat of the stoves. She mumbled something in German as Kurt bent down and kissed her cheek.

Turning back to his companion, he put an arm around the much shorter woman's shoulders. "Madelyne, this is Birgit Johannes. She and her husband, Dieter, run this bakery."

"It's a pleasure." Maddie smiled smoothly, though she was feeling a little awkward. How was she supposed to greet the woman? Obviously Kurt knew her - so she couldn't exactly follow his lead. She settled on nodding and waving her hand a little vaguely. "Everything looks wonderful, I'm disappointed that Kurt hasn't brought me here before now."

She was still smiling when her eyes flicked back up to him.

"She's not a mutant, is she?" It was surprising to see that she accepted Kurt's mutation so readily, so easily. Perhaps things were different in other parts of the world - or perhaps they were just nicer people who hadn't fallen prey to the mentality that difference was a bad thing. Had there been more people like that in the world, Madelyne would not have hidden her own mutation for so long. She wondered just how different her life would have been if that had happened.

A beaming smile graced Birgit's matronly face, and she continued chattering animatedly in German to Kurt as he responded to Maddie. No, not a mutant, unless it is that she makes the best Lebküchen in the world. "She says thank you very much. You're welcome to try whatever you like." He smiled down at the woman. "One of the advantages to being friends with a baker."

Glancing at the displays, Kurt smiled peacefully. There were very few places he felt quite as serene as Birgit's bakery. He had been surprised when they had welcomed him so easily, but he had turned out to be one of their best customers; eventually the plump woman wouldn't even take full price when he bought her pastries. Kurt always made sure to give the rest to Dieter when Birgit wasn't looking, of course; they had to eat too.

Birgit made herself busy behind the cases just before Dieter stepped out to the front of the shop. He was a slab of a man, barrel-chested with a thick moustache over his upper lip and bushy eyebrows atop his brow, but his mouth was turned up in a huge grin and his eyes almost disappeared as he smiled. "Ah, Kurt, it is good to see you again!" he called over the counter in a deep, rich voice heavily laden with a German accent. "And I see you brought company with you!"

Chuckling, Kurt glanced at Maddie. "Ja, Dieter. Ihr Name ist Madelyne Pryor."

Dieter speaks English well, but Birgit does not know how. Dieter usually translates for her.

A slight nod was the only acknowledgement of his thoughts, though Madelyne had no idea what Lebküchen was. Something that she'd have to try, no doubt, if it was that good. "Thank you, Birgit." She wondered just how long it would take to work off this evening's culinary delights and wondered for a moment if Kurt would have the manners to at least help her start. But no, she didn't think that kind of exercise was quite on the agenda.

Pity.

A small smile played over her lips as Maddie examined the displays, doing her best to look like she was taking it all quite seriously. Her attention was distracted from both the pastries and her thoughts when Birgit's husband joined her behind the counter and Kurt introduced her to the man.

"Lovely to meet you, Dieter." In all likelihood, he wasn't a mutant either, so she found it interesting that Kurt had been so readily accepted by the couple. It was nice to know that not every human was put off by his appearance. If only more people were so accepting.

"You'll have to recommend something for me, I'm not sure that I can choose from so many delicious looking things."

Kurt smiled, watching Maddie peer into display cases at the various treats. He had pegged her as having a bit of a sweet tooth - something about her spoke of indulging - and since Kurt usually tried to visit the shop whenever he was in the city, he figured he could combine his two reasons for being there into a single trip.

Leaning across the counter to speak to Birgit quietly, he smiled at the short woman. "Ich kann nicht heute Abend bleiben und helfen." As the matronly woman glanced at Maddie with a smile and patted Kurt's cheek, the teleporter leaned back, glancing down in the display case, and pointed to an plate of pastries. "Wir werden zwei von denjenigen nehmen, bitte. Die Apfelstrudel."

He could hear Dieter giving Maddie suggestions, smiling warmly at her, and he walked over to them as Birgit hurried to the back to heat the strudel up. "There is no better Apfelstrudel than made by Germans, right Dieter?" He winced slightly as the large man's hand came down heavily on his shoulder in what was surely meant as a friendly gesture, but his smile never wavered.

"Bienenstich." She made a reasonable approximation of the accent as she repeated the word after Dieter, who was telling her the proper names for everything that he was pointing out.

"That is cream, yes?" Maddie loved cream. In fact, the whole thing was looking - and sounding fabulous - cream and honey and slivers of almond... Mmmm. Before she could ask for a good sized couple of pieces - making the assumption that Kurt would like it, because it sounded divine - the blue-furred mutant had come over to join them and was getting a rather firm confirmation of his statement about (she assumed, though she could well have been wrong, not speaking more than about four words of German) apple strudel.

"I am going to need a workout tonight. Two pieces of the bienenstich cake, please." She managed to keep most of the possible innuendo out of her words - only most, but hopefully the (not too badly pronounced if she did say so herself) order would distract both of them from what she was saying behind her words.

"So how long have you known Kurt, Dieter?" It seemed like a good opportunity to ask, maybe find out a little more about him from another point of view. She did her best to keep her smile polite, though Kurt would probably guess her game quickly enough.

Kurt and Dieter smiled in amusement and appreciation as Maddie did her best to repeat the word with the proper inflection. It was a good choice, and Kurt gave her a reassuring smile as he shifted out from under the larger man's meaty hand.

"I am sure you will get plenty of exercise," Dieter said, pulling pieces of cake out of the case and wrapping them up. "You young people run all over the place. You tire me out just watching you!" he laughed. The suggestion inherent in her words slipped right past his kindly head, although they didn't make it past Kurt as he loosened the collar of his shirt.

Birgit came out of the back carrying a second back, and Kurt took it as Dieter began to speak. "He has been coming to our Bäckerei for months now. I had never seen him, but Birgit remembered him from the circus in Deutschland. She was thrilled to have a celebrity in our shop, even if no one else knew it." His eyes disappeared again as he smiled, and Kurt narrowly missed another heavy hand aimed for his shoulder.

"And how was I supposed to stay away when such delicious treats and friendly people were here?" Kurt asked with a small smile, grasping Dieter's hand in what looked like a handshake, although everyone but Birgit could see money transfer from palm to palm.

"And now, Maddie and I need to go 'run all over the place,'" he said, smiling at Dieter. He glanced at Birgit. "Ich werde bald zurückkehren." She smiled at him, and, picking up the second back that sat on the counter, he turned towards the door.

"A celebrity?" Maddie turned to Kurt with a wide smile. She hadn't heard a whole lot about his circus days. In fact, she couldn't recall him ever having explicitly told her about the circus, though his mentions of acrobatics and the trapeze should have clued her in.

She'd just thought that he had an unusual childhood. What else could you really expect when thinking about how a blue child was raised?

"Kurt will definitely have to show me some of his circus moves. If he can remember them."

But it looked as the teleporter wanted to get her out of the bakery, so Madelyne just gave the pair of bakers another warm smile. "It was lovely to meet you. I'm certain that I will see you again." Regardless of whether Kurt brought her there or not, if the food was as delicious as it looked - and smelled - she would be returning at some point.

"Thank you." And with that, she followed her blue companion back out into the street.

[maddy]

"You never told me you were a celebrity before the X-Men thing." She gave him another cheeky smile. "I'm certain I would have behaved myself more if I knew that the German paparazzi could have been lurking around the next corner."

Of course, that wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun. Maddie thought that even Kurt would agree with her there. Or part of him would, at any rate.

Smiling with embarrassment, Kurt held open the door as Maddie strolled through. "A lifetime ago, though I may be able to remember something." Throwing a last wave over his shoulder, Kurt stepped out of the door, letting it swing closed behind him, and walked along next to Maddie.

Chuckling at her questions, Kurt shook his head. "It was a small circus in Bavaria, and everyone thought I was just in a costume. There is no one to follow me."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a strudel, watching it steam in his hands. "In the Munich circus, I was known as the Incredible Nightcrawler." He took a bite with his sharp teeth, closing his eyes as the taste hit his tongue. It was heavenly, Birgit's strudel... it brought back his life in Germany, what seemed like so long ago.

Opening one eye, he glanced at her knowingly. "And would you really have behaved?"

"The Incredible... Do I get a taste?" The way he closed his eyes and enjoyed it was making her smile. And want to experience the taste for herself.

As for the other question... Madelyne spread her hands innocently. "I would at least have tried. Not that you seem to have minded so much." She did her best to keep looking innocent, but they both knew that she wasn't by a long shot.

"So the Incredible Nightcrawler, eh? And how many women wanted to know what you were like under the costume?" It was a shame that they'd chosen to think that way - but of course she couldn't have expected even the circus to be an acceptable place for mutants to live as themselves.

Kurt smiled and turned the strudel towards her, holding it so she could take a bite and blushingly ignoring any innuendo. "Be careful, it is hot," he warned. He didn't want her burning her mouth by just diving for the pastry.

"Trying and succeeding are two very different things, as we well know," Kurt said with a low chuckle. He wasn't about to comment on whether he minded or not; he was still figuring that out for himself. "And do not play innocent with me, Madelyne. You and I both know that somewhere you have a red tail just like mine."

Taking another bite of the strudel, he brushed crumbs from his upper lip and swallowed before speaking again. "Most of the messages and visitors I received were actually small children, not bright young women." He chuckled again. "Although I would receive the occasional letter asking me how... flexible I was."

Taking a careful bite, Maddie couldn't help but bring one hand up to her chest and make that expression that said 'oh, god that's awesome'. He wasn't wrong when he'd said that Germans made the best apple strudel, or whatever it was that he'd called it.

"Mmmmm. Oh god that's good." She ignored the comment about the tail, her eyes flicking down to see where his was and wished that it could be wrapped around her again. But alas.

"Why do I find that unsurprising? I am wondering how flexible you are." Not that her mind's wanderings could really set the standard for others. And she'd been wondering that anyway. He never had shown her any of his acrobatics.

"I'm sure if they knew that it wasn't just a costume they could have thought of all kinds of interesting questions." The smile she gave him said that she certainly had.

Kurt chuckled at her reactions and words mumbled through a mouthful of strudel. "Ja, it is rather heavenly." He took another bite himself, his tail waving beneath his coat. "A truly delightful treat."

Smiling at her, he moved down the sidewalk at an easy pace. "Well, when your mutation is flexibility, you can do enough to be impressive even by circus standards." He'd performed as a contortionist once or twice on the fly when the actual performer had pulled something, but it wasn't something he'd done very often - or even wanted to. He always felt better flying through the air.

Her next comment made his smile drop, though. He knew better than she did just what reaction the local villagers had when they had found out it wasn't a costume, and it certainly wasn't questions in letters. He forced the smile back. "And what exactly do you think they would be asking?"

She could feel the mood change, as obvious as a pink elephant taking up residence in his back pocket. Perhaps things weren't so different over there after all. Raising an eyebrow, Maddie shrugged. Maybe she shouldn't say it, now that the mood was not so light, but it was her - so she did anyway.

"Well I'm sure I'm not the only one who is curious about whether you are blue - and fuzzy - all over." Her tone was surprisingly non-chalant, as though this was the kind of thing that was natural for people to think of. It was, really, but it probably wasn't quite so usual for people to actually say it out loud.

"People are often curious about those who are different in some way. Wanting to know if the... fundamentals are the same." Somehow, Madelyne managed to look perfectly innocent as she said it.

Kurt nearly choked on his bite of strudel.

Did she just ask...

Pounding on his chest as he was wracked with fits of coughing, he accidentally dropped the strudel, glad that he had purchased more than one. That was definitely not a question he had been asked before, even if someone had wondered, and he honestly had no idea how to answer it - or if he should even try.

As the coughing subsided, Kurt stood up straight again, brushing his hand through his haid. "Er..." He blinked his gold eyes at her and held up a hand, showing her his hairless palm and the bare patches on the pad of each fingertip.

Maddie could only chuckle at his response, and she reached out to run a fingertip along his palm, wearing an amused smirk.

"So that's a no to the fuzzy but a yes to the blue, then?" It was a shame that they were still out on the street with plenty of potential witnesses, or she'd have saved his strudel from hitting the ground for him. Of course, once she remembered that he was quite obviously a mutant she realised that it probably would have been safe to and everyone would have assumed it was him anyway - but no use crying over spilt milk. Or dropped strudels, as the case may have been.

"I'm sorry about making you drop your strudel, Kurt. I'll have to make it up to you somehow." The innocent look wasn't quite so perfect this time.

Kurt's thick fingers twitched, her fingertip tickling in a not-entirely-unpleasant way. "Ja, that is correct," he said hoarsely, letting his hand drop to his side again and looking down at the discarded pastry.

He had only just missed dropping it onto his foot, and he stepped to one side, avoiding the apple filling that had poured out onto the sidewalk. "It is all right," he said. "I did buy more than one." He looked up at her, and his eyes widened a fraction at her expression. He had the distinct impression that she wasn't talking about just buying him another pastry.

Blinking, he licked his lips nervously and dug in the paper bag for the other strudel. "So... ah... Madelyne. Have you decided where you would like to go?"

"Oh, I can think of a few places I'd like to take you... But I haven't decided just yet." Her innocent face was getting worse and worse, really. For that matter, Madelyne was having trouble keeping a straight face.

"Although, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to go home so that I can try some of that cake without getting cream all over myself. Dieter was... rather generous when he cut it for me." Her lips twitched into a smile. "And it would give you time to enjoy your strudel without having to worry about it ending up on the sidewalk." Because she'd give him a plate to leave underneath it, not because she was planning on behaving herself.

Still, she hadn't thought that she'd get quite that reaction. He was far more innocent than she'd have expected - Maddie was truly surprised that no-one had ever asked him that before.

Nodding quietly, Kurt stopped rummaging in the paper bag and instead rolled it up, placing it inside one of his coat pockets. "Dieter makes sure to give what is paid for," he said quietly. "I think it is an excellent idea."

Of course, her face made him less convinced, but he pushed those feelings aside. Besides, he really didn't want to lose his second strudel to Maddie's questions, and knowing her, they were bound to come.

Glad that he wouldn't have to go through the lobby again, as he'd seen the hallway outside her apartment, Kurt held his arms open, ready to teleport away.

Well that had been surprisingly easy, and Maddie couldn't hold her smile back as she stepped into his arms and slipped her own around his neck.

She considered a comment but decided against it, instead simply closing her eyes and waiting for the telltale bamf! that would signal their departure from the street outside the bakery.

There was no nausea this time, and her eyes fluttered open to find them back in the hallway outside her apartment. She flipped the locks on her door with her mind - a bad habit, but one that she'd already developed - and pushed it open with one hand as she walked inside.

It was nice. Not quite so open and opulent as the one in Washington, but it was furnished in the same way and was obviously well cared for. The setup was slightly different, too - narrower, and there was a second bedroom up in the loft - but she'd already put her own stamp on it.

"Did you want a drink or anything?"

Kurt unconsciously waved his tail around as they reappeared, helping the acrid smoke dissipate as swiftly as possible. He only realized it had been done after the fact these days; it was part of the routine for so long that he couldn't stop if he tried.

Glancing inside Maddie's apartement as she opened the door, Kurt took it in cautiously, and then reminded himself that he'd been in one of Maddie's apartments before. This one was no different, if a little smaller, but that gave it a feeling of coziness.

But it is different this time, he thought absently. Last time you didn't have... THAT on your mind. Grimacing slightly, he forced his apprehensions down and stepped through the entryway, his tail closing the door behind him.

"Ah... ja. A beer would be lovely," he said, hoping that she had something darker than the normal American swill Logan drank.

"This is a lovely apartment, Madelyne. You have done a good job with it."

"Oh, thank you." She did enjoy having a nice apartment, did enjoy it when people noticed - occasionally she would get bored and rearrange all the furniture just to see if anyone had really been paying attention - but even her apartment, her home turf, was designed to fit with her outward persona. Only the bedroom gave some hint of what could be found underneath, and that was only if people really went looking. Not many did. People saw what they expected to - and she enjoyed taking advantage of that sometimes, enjoyed their surprise.

"I'm afraid it may not be to your taste, but any beer is better than no beer, right?" She hadn't anticipated that Kurt would actually agree to coming inside for a drink, or she'd have made sure to get something more to his taste. Madelyne wandered over with one bottle extended toward him, motioning with a finger toward the couch.

"Make yourself comfortable." That probably wasn't going to happen while they were still in her apartment, but she had to do the polite thing. She gave him another one of her amused smiles.

Kurt chuckled as she handed him the bottle. "I am not one to argue with wisdom when I hear it." Pulling the bag-wrapped strudel out of his pocket, he placed in on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch, pulling a heavy swig from the bottle. There was very little a well-placed beer wouldn't solve, at least according to Martin Luther. Even if the man had broken from the church, Kurt could respect him for that.

He glanced around at the apartment as his hand went to unwrapping his desert. It was elegant, tasteful, and best of all, not overly flashy, something that he was finding to be a rarity. He actually felt more comfortable sitting on the couch than he thought he would as he glanced up at her, beer in one hand and strudel in the other.

Even if he couldn't think of anything particularly earth-shaking to say.

Instead he blinked at her once before lamely asking, "How long did it take to find this apartment?"

She realised as she sat down that she'd forgotten utensils for her cake - even though they were in her apartment, she still didn't want to end up with cream all over herself - and though she considered fetching them with her telekinesis, she still wasn't entirely familiar with the apartment and didn't want to end up breaking something by accident.

Placing her beer down on the coffee table, Madelyne stood and fumbled around in the kitchen for a few moments.

"Oh, not too long. Not as long as I thought it would, but I stopped looking for two in the same building and that made things much easier." Her voice was slightly muffled as she leaned into a cupboard. Where was it that she'd put the plates again?

"Kyle's got a place uptown, a bit more impressive as is... befitting someone like him. It's not as though we have any trouble meeting when need be, he can fly." But she didn't think he was liking her being so far away quite so much as she was. Maddie had grown rather bored with Kyle, though.

"Ah! There they are." She emerged triumphant with a pair of plates and a couple of forks in case Kurt wanted the second piece of cake. She hadn't actually been intending on eating both, but if they were as good as they looked - well, he might just have to get in early.

"Did you want some of the... er, cake?" She'd forgotten the name already.

Kurt made a small noise of recognition as she spoke about the whole process. Ah, Kyle. I had forgotten about him. He wasn't entirely sure if the Guardian's existence in the play he found himself in was good or bad, despite Kurt's distate for the man that tainted his memories.

"How is Herr Kennedy lately?" he inquired politely, doing his best to keep his voice neutral. "I have not heard anything of him for quite some time. Surely he has not given up." It would certainly make our positions much easier if he had.

Setting his strudel aside, he smiled as she brought out the plates. "I would love a piece of cake. Thank you, Madelyne."

"No, no, he hasn't quit." Now that she'd fetched everything, the cake began arranging itself apparently without any help. With a smile, Madelyne offered her blue companion one of the plates and looked longingly at the other.

"He's been rather boring, actually - still shooting the show, still irritating the police, spending most of his time working on getting his name out there with some model or another on his arm." She rolled her eyes before taking a forkful of cake, and as the taste hit her, Maddie's eyes closed involuntarily and she let out a quiet moan.

"Oh, god that's good." The way all of the flavours combined together... She could only wish that Kurt had said no.

Kurt watched with interest as the cake flew through the air, depositing itself on the plates. Picking up his, he set his fork on the edge, listening to her speak.

"He doesn't seem like a terribly... personable man," Kurt said tactfully before taking another drink of his beer. To say the least. How you work for him is beyond me, Madelyne. "He certainly seems more concerned with his own glory than anything else."

Kurt swore inwardly. Whether she plucked such thoughts from his head was one thing; he had definitely not meant to say it out loud. His thoughts were diverted as Maddie took her first bite of the cake, letting out a low moan. The tip of his tail twitched at the sound, but he merely smiled. "We Germans know how to make desert."

Maddie stopped mid-second bite, smiling in amusement around her fork.

"I'll keep that in mind." Her telepathic words were considerably more suggestive than his innocent remark. It was all she could do to stop herself from carrying on the conversation telepathically so that she could keep eating, and she put the fork down with only a small look of regret.

She nodded as she licked her lips, taking a quick sip of beer before she spoke again.

"Yes, Kyle has personality flaws - but who in reality television doesn't?" He was probably the best person to be doing the job. He was good looking, easy to get along with, had quite generically useful powers and wanted to do it - and look good at the same time. At least his positive attitude about himself would reflect as a positive attitude about mutants in general. So long as people didn't see him as a vigilante.

But that was for the analysts to worry about, not her.

"But as I said, I've been finding him rather boring lately. The project... when I found out about it, I thought it would be quite interesting - and it was, for a while. But I'm still not convinced that the public will accept all mutants, just because Kyle is getting decent ratings."

Kurt let one eyebrow quirk curiously, but he let the telepathic message slide, putting a bite of the cake in his mouth. And even though he was used to German deserts, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, his eyes closing slightly in appreciation. Dieter and Birgit certainly knew what they were doing.

Licking the crumbs off his upper lip, he focused on Maddie again. "I am afraid that I do not watch much television, and I have not had the opportunity to see Herr Kennedy's show." Even if Kurt did watch TV, he wouldn't have searched out Kyle's show, but he didn't really feel the need to tell Maddie that.

"I am actually worried that the public will only look on Kyle as a novelty, not a representative of mutants all together," he said, passing off his beer to one hand with his tail. "And once the novelty is done, we will be judged as harshly as ever."

Kurt was saying something, she knew, but Madelyne was utterly distracted by how he was using his tail like an extra arm.

"A novelty? Yes, I'm really not sure how he is reflecting on the whole mutant population... But I suppose it's better than the Brotherhood being the only ones in the news." She paused, took another forkful of cake and looked thoughtful for a long moment. "And the X-Men of course, but it seems as though most of your coverage comes from fighting the Brotherhood."

It was said with a rather vague air, the redheaded mutant obviously still distracted by her own thoughts. Throughout all the conflict between the two sides, Madelyne had never considered taking a side either way. It simply wasn't in her to reveal herself to the world by fighting one way of another - and she'd become accustomed to a certain lifestyle that she was certain would not continue if she was living in a school or a wanted criminal.

"We can only hope it will all work out in the end - these laws are supposed to be helping, though I'm not entirely convinced that they are doing the job either. At least they're not using the cure in law enforcement any more though. That's one thing."

Kurt sighed, taking another bite of the cake. "Ja, we have no had the best opportunities for publicity in the past. We cannot exactly bring a news crew to the school. There are too many students whose identities would be comprimised."

Taking a drink of his beer, Kurt let the liquid slide down his throat as he thought. There was definitely something to be said for having a mutant in the public view. It was what he had been hoping for with Bobby's interview, but what with his following arrest, that opportunity was lost.

Shuddering as she mentioned using the cure as a weapon, he set his cake down. "Ja, that was a great relief. The idea of being stripped of a defining part of one's identity in a single moment by someone who might have prejudices already..." He sighed heavily, thinking about Jubilee. "It would be terrible. Our abilities shape who we are. It is why I did not have the cure when I was given the opportunity."

It didn't surprise her that he'd been offered the opportunity for the cure. Anyone with such an extreme and obvious physical mutation... They'd have expected him to jump at the chance.

"I think it goes beyond abilities, actually. Even when I cannot use my telekinesis, when there are other people around, I am still a mutant. It's just... a part of who I am, and knowing that someone wanted to take that away... Well. If someone offered a way to be taller, I wouldn't take that, either." Some people would - but some people would take the cure for mutation, too. It was just a difference of opinion, Maddie supposed - but she wished that there wasn't a pressure to conform so that people would want to change themselves.

She'd never dyed her hair, either.

"Were you ever curious, what you would look like without the blue and fuzzy?" She found herself looking at him now rather curiously, trying to imagine it.

He hadn't been expecting the question. Margali had told him once that he was perfect no matter how he looked, but even among people in a circus he looked different.

Kurt fell silent for a moment, and even his tail stopped moving, his eyes looking forward blindly. Slowly raising the bottle to his lips, he took a long drink. "Every time I wake up," he said sadly, his low voice quiet.

For a moment, as she listened in on his reminiscing, Maddie wished that she was sitting on the same couch as he was.

But rather than reaching for him, to show him what she thought, the telekinetic spoke in a voice as quiet as his, her green eyes focused on his.

"You are not perfect no matter how you look, Kurt. You're perfect because of it, because of everything that makes you you."

Closing his eyes as his head tilted down slightly, a small, embarrassed smile slipped across his lips. "Danke schön, Madelyne." He took another long drink, emptying his bottle.

Taking another bite of his cake, he gave a pleasant sigh as the taste hit his tongue again. He glanced up at Maddie, fork still in his mouth, and gave a slightly larger smile. There was good company and good food, which left very little time to dwell on problems.

Pulling the fork from between his lips, he looked at Maddie thoughtfully. "We still have one more trip to make tonight, do we not? Have you decided where you would like to go?"

[maddy]

"I can think of a few places that I'd like to take you, Kurt." She did her very best to look innocent, covering her small smile with another forkful of cake. Putting the fork down again, she licked her lips to get the last little bit of cream and nodded.

"Actually, I thought I might like to go to the Chrysler Building. I've been enjoying our rooftop tour of New York." This time she didn't bother trying to look innocent. He had to know just what she meant - hey, she couldn't be expected to behave the entire evening.

"I can take you to some of my mutant-friendly places when I'm... More appropriately dressed." Let him chew on that for a while, try to puzzle out just what she meant. The idea of that amused her, wondering what he'd come up with. Probably not what she actually meant - she could only think that Kurt's imagination would be as innocent as the rest of him. Unless it was more akin to the tail, of course.

Kurt did his best to not pay attention to her tongue. "Well, one tonight, and we can see the others at another time."

He looked up at her slowly, all too sure of what she meant. Giving her another embarrassed smile, he fingered the edge of his coat. "Perhaps something... a little closer to the ground." If she was going to get him into a compromising position again, he was might as well make her work for it. And judging from her expression, she was going to be trying.

"Appropriately dressed?" Kurt asked curiously. He glanced at her up and down, making sure he didn't linger too long on her legs. She was dressed well enough to fit in most places. "I hope they are not too formal. I have very little in the way of formal wear."

"Closer to the ground? You're no fun." Maddie looked thoughtful as she considered somewhere else for them to go.

"Oh, it's not a formality thing. I'm sure you'd fit in just fine the way you are." They'd quite like him, actually, especially once they got to see the scars and the tail. She was just accustomed to wearing something slightly... different to her normal business attire. She got few chances to wear that kind of thing outside of her own apartment, so when she did Madelyne tended to jump at the chance.

"Well... What do you think of Governor's Island? I quite enjoyed the sound of the water and the wind in my hair the last time we went out." She was tempted to remind him that he was supposed to go with her no questions asked, but this was quite fun itself.

Kurt smiled, licking some of the cream from the cake off his finger before he looked back up at her. "I am sure you will be fun enough for both of us, Madelyne."

He canted his head, looking at her. If he would fit in just fine, then why would she need to change? The end of his tail curled back and forth curiously, and he opened his mouth slightly only to close it again. It was probably best not to ask, even though now he was dying to know exactly what she had to change into for such occasions.

"I do not think I have ever been to Governor's Island. Perhaps it is your turn to show me something new."

Did he even realise what he was saying? Probably not, he was far too innocent... But Maddie wondered if maybe the part of his brain that was connected to his tail slipped through and managed to speak up sometimes. Her eyes flicked over to it for a moment, curling around lazily, before looking back to him.

"I'm sure there's lots of new things I can show you, Kurt. Governor's Island sounds like a good place to start." She gave him a bit of a smile before taking a good sip of her beer.

"It's not far from the Statue of Liberty - so if you'd like to get us there, I can point us in the right direction from there. Or I can call for a cab, and we can spend a little more time here." Again, she did her very best to look innocent - but she was fairly certain that he'd know exactly what she meant.

Kurt stretched his arms over his head, revelling in the pull at his shoulderblades. "I think it sounds like a marvelous idea, Madelyne. I do not get to the city all that frequently, so people show me new things rarely."

He let his arms drop, looking at her expression with mild surprise. "Er... perhaps it is best if I just take us there," he said, rising to his feet and opening his arms. "Shall we, Madelyne?"

"Wonderful." Popping the last bit of cake into her mouth, Maddie looked at the plate with regret and took the last bit of cream onto her fingertip. Standing, Maddie sucked the cream off and gave him a smile.

Pulling her jacket around herself, the telekinetic stepped into his arms and slipped her arms around his neck. Really, she couldn't lose no matter what they did, which was why she was more than happy to simply run with whatever it was that Kurt wanted. She looked up at him through her eyelashes for a moment, her smile growing as she closed her eyes.

"Well then... Let's go."

Teleporting found them standing on the shores of Liberty Island in short order, glancing out at the black water. Kurt glanced up at the tall statue holding her torch high. Seems we were here not too long ago. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that he was so comfortable so far above the ground, but when he was up in the air he barely thought about it.

Glancing around, he looked for their next destination, his arms still wrapped around her back. "So, Madelyne, which way is Governor's Island?"

"East." Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him for a moment before the tall statue captured her attention. She really did like being up high, and there was something about standing on a monument that you could see on postcards that Madelyne found strangely appealing. But the statue was not their destination tonight - the old fortifications on the island across the bay was.

"Around a mile and a half or so? It's quite a large island but we're aiming for Fort Jay, which is toward the north end. I think if we just go directly east we should hit it - hopefully not literally." She gave him a small smile and pointed in the right direction, though her eyesight was not so good that she could see much that way.

"I can catch us if we fall a bit short." Because a night swim was not exactly appealing to her - at least, not here.

Kurt looked out across the bay. There were the lights on the island, giving him a reference point, even if he couldn't actually see the base itself.

Which worried him, really. He never liked teleporting somewhere that he couldn't see or hadn't seen, and Governor's Island was, practically speaking, neither. Still, he could get them there and hope that they didn't appear with anything through their midsections...

Or he could pull the same trick as the first time they'd traveled together, but with a slight modification.

"Madelyne, I am going to teleport us above the island first. I will need you to hold us in the air while I find somewhere safe for us to reappear."

"Not a problem." Though she didn't do it very often, Madelyne was capable of flight, and stopping someone else from moving was a piece of cake. German cake. Mmm. Yes, she was feeling slightly preoccupied by all things German that evening.

Standing in mid air was rather disconcerting for some people, but she was sure that Kurt would be able to handle it.

"Ready whenever you are, Kurt." She took the opportunity to wrap her arms even tighter about him, her eyes open wide as they disappeared with a bamf!

Thankfully, she didn't get any glimpse of wherever it was that they went for the split second between their disappearance from the shores of Liberty Island and their reappearance in the air above Governor's Island. They'd started to fall just a little, her hair fanning out and lifting off her shoulders, when Maddie took hold and stopped the pair of them in mid-air, looking down at the view below them as though completely unaffected by the fact that there was nothing to keep them standing where they were.

Because she was completely unaffected by it - in fact, there was plenty to keep them right were they were, all the molecules around them which Maddie could feel now that she had opened herself to it, a telekinetic shield forming underneath them so that they at least had something solid-feeling under their feet. It was slightly easier for the mind to deal with that then simply being held in mid air.

"Where are you thinking of setting down?" Her eyes left the ground beneath them and returned to her companions face, but her concentration was still on the shields beneath them. She couldn't afford to let that slip, so she refused to let herself get distracted.

Kurt was rather relieved that she chose to form something beneath them rather than just holding him up. When Jean had suspended him in the church the first time they had met, it had been decidedly uncomfortable, as though he was gripped ever-so-slightly so that he still felt like he should be able to move, but couldn't. This was much preferable.

Golden eyes darted around, looking for somewhere suitable. They were a good 20 yards from the ground. His eyes fell on a rocky outcropping near the shore, and he pointed at it. "That looks like a good place, Madelyne. Prepare to let go, and I'll teleport us there." Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he did his best to ignore the feel of her body against him and focused on the outcropping.

Though she had every faith that between them it would be just fine, Maddie was a little bit worried about letting go and trusting that Kurt could beat gravity without anything going wrong. When he drew her close to her, she couldn't help but cling to him much more tightly than usual.

This time, she did close her eyes.

"Are you ready?" she whispered, before letting go of her shields and feeling gravity take hold.

Of course they were fine, disappearing with another bamf! and reappearing on the outcropping of rocks below, but she took a moment before she was willing to loosen her grip on him slightly and open her eyes to look out at the water.

"Well, that went well." She pulled away from him almost sheepishly.

Kurt held his breath for the brief moment before gravity overcame inertia. It was that moment of weightlessness that always thrilled him; there was no time to consider anything else. And in that, the entire world opened and Kurt could do anything.

But it always closed as soon as the world pulled back down, and Kurt focused on the rocks. When they reappeared less than an inch from the ground, their inertia making their feet contact, Kurt chuckled as he felt Maddie's grip on him slacken. "I never had any doubts," he said as she stepped back.

Glancing out at the black water and the bright lights on either side of the bay, he smiled. It was always nice to see things from a different perspective, and the view from Governor's Island was definitely new to him. "This is quite nice, Madelyne. Thank you for suggesting it."

The view from down here was different from what they'd had just across the bay on top of the Statue of Liberty, and Maddie nodded in appreciation herself when Kurt spoke.

"I've never been here at night before. I really have been enjoying our night-time tour. There is something about the way the city lights up... Pushing back the darkness and continuing as though nothing has changed. I do love New York." Apparently enough to get rather poetic about it. She shrugged and picked her way over to another rock that was the right size for her to sit down.

"Although sometimes I would like to see real darkness. The kind of moonless night where you can't see a man-made light around you and there's millions of stars." Apparently it was a rather poetic kind of night.

Kurt glanced at her with a chuckle. "I am impressed, Madelyne. I had no idea you could be so elegant about such things."

Sitting down next to her, he looked up at the sky. "In Bavaria, sometimes I would head deep into the forest to a clearing. We were near a small village, so there was little light polution, and the farther into the forest you wandered, the darker it was.

"I would stop in a clearing and lay down on the ground and stare up at the sky - and on a moonless night, there were so many stars that you could never hope to count them all in a single lifetime."

Giving her a small smile, he pointed to the sky. "As opposed to the five you see here."

All Maddie could do was blink up at him as he joined her, wondering just what the blue teleporter was trying to say.

Did he think she wasn't elegant most of the time? Was that what he meant?

She decided to let it slide for the moment, but filed it away in the back of her mind for future reference.

"My father owns a cabin in Alaska. We used to go up there every couple of years - there really wasn't much else to look at up there." She'd found it much less entertaining than her little brother, who got to do manly things with their father. Madelyne had spent most of her time enjoying the solitude and taking one of the few chances that she got to play with her powers.

"I suppose you can't have everything, though. And I'd rather have the chance to meet someone new and interesting every day." The stars weren't exactly the best conversationalists. Not that conversation was what Maddie was interested in all the time, but hey.

Leaning back on his elbows, Kurt took a deep breath, letting it out in a contended sigh. "There was little else to do in Winzeldorf, either - especially since I was under orders from Margali not to let myself be seen." Which was all too true. Apart from spending time with Jimaine, Stefan or the other members of the circus, there were no routes of entertainment open to him except for wandering in the forest and seeing what he could from the shadows.

Not all of us can meet someone new every day, Madelyne, Kurt thought ruefully. Still, there was a truth to her words. "It is much nicer here in New York than in the countryside of Bavaria. There is much more to be done here, even for people like... like me." Somehow the word 'us' didn't feel quite right rolling off his tongue, as Maddie's identity as a mutant was still private information.

"It must have been hard for you." She looked down at her fingernails for a moment, almost looking uncomfortable. "I really can't imagine... Remind me one day to take you to X." The originally un-named bar was full of mutants of all shapes, sizes, colours and interests. Many of them less than conventional.

"It'd be nicer if it was up top, it might just feel like it's another place that you're hiding away from the world, but... I think once we're there you'll realise why I have to change to fit in." Because the great majority of the patrons of the underground bar were physical mutants - down there, she was the one that was different, the one that looked out of place. Sometimes Madelyne just liked to dress up, though.

"It won't be like this forever." The words were soft, as though she was thinking out loud. She just wasn't sure if things would change in her lifetime or not.

Kurt chuckled, looking over at her before laying back on the cold stone. "A bar named X... how strangely appropriate."

X's seemed to be everywhere he looked these days. It didn't help that the very architecture at the mansion was riddled with them. If he hadn't known the professor, he would have thought it was something of an ego boost for the chair-bound man, god rest his soul.

His brow quirked curiously. "Up... top?" Putting his hands behind his head, he stared up at the sky, even though he wasn't really looking at the stars anymore. "What do you mean?"

Chewing on the inside of his lower lip, Kurt glanced at her with his golden eyes. I certainly hope not.

"It's underground. Hidden. They like having their privacy and being a little bit more choosy about who they let in - you have to know someone that's already a well known patron, or at least you have to if you're like me." She leant back to join him looking up at the sky, although her concentration wasn't exactly on the stars either.

"It's... well, it's a haven, really, for mutants that can be considered different even amongst other mutants." Madelyne wondered what that would tell him about her, if he'd let himself consider it. "So sometimes I think it would be nice if it could be above ground, advertised, the kind of place that anyone could walk into a realise that everyone is normal... But we're not there yet."

Rolling onto his side, Kurt looked up and down her reclining form. "Like you? You mean, someone who looks normal? I have heard about something that would let me look normal... they call it an Image Inducer. Holographic, so underneath I would still be my charming, fuzzy self..." - he smoothed down the fur on his face with a three-fingered hand - "but would allow me to walk about, among people, without them knowing what I was."

He smiled, taking a deep breath. "Still, then I would not be able to enter this underground club, would I?" He rubbed his chin thoughftully. "A club where different is normal... I would very much like to see this place. Do you suppose you could show it to me?"

Madelyne could understand wanting to hide away your mutation to fit in with the rest of the world. If there was a way for Kurt to hide without changing, and it would make him happy, well... the conscious part of her brain said that he needed to do it. It would have been hypocritical for her to say any different. But there was a part of her that said that he shouldn't have to change to fit in, that she shouldn't have to pretend, that people should have appreciated them for what they were, not feared them.

She'd thought that she'd have time to prepare before taking Kurt to any of her places, the places where people knew more about the hidden side of her than the rest of her. She also wasn't entirely sure that she felt comfortable walking in there dressed as she was - almost as though she was bringing two sides of her together that were normally seperated by an insurmountable rift. Madelyne liked leaving her normal life behind when she went there - but if she'd wanted to leave her normal life behind, she probably shouldn't have mentioned it to Kurt.

"Alright, I can take you there." She thought about warning him that he could see some things that would shock him, but it really did depend on who was at the bar that evening. Weeknights tended to be slightly more laid back, though he was still likely to see people in varying states of undress with all kinds of activities going on.

Reaching up to brush one fuzzy cheek with her fingertips, Madelyne smiled. "I cannot imagine you as anyone but your blue, fuzzy self." Then she pushed herself up to sitting and looked thoughtfully out at the water.

"I think the best thing to do would be get us back to my apartment building. We can walk from there."

Kurt smiled, propping himself up on one elbow. "Most excellent. I look forward to... how did you put it... meeting someone new and interesting?" He started to chuckle, but it got stuck somewhere halfway up his throat as her fingers brushed across his cheek.

Sitting up next to her, he nodded. "To your apartment building it is." Leaning closer, he wrapped his arms around her, and with a puff of smoke and a bamf! they were gone.


[Continued in 'They call it X']