Unpacking, and Shaking Out the Sand

[Storm]

Ororo and Kurt had walked, chatting, through the halls of the mansion until they reached Ororo's top-story room. She let out a breath of satisfaction and unlocked her door.

The room was a loft, not too large, with ceiling beams stretching underneath the apex of the roof and a sliding glass door opening onto a small balcony. The furniture was all dark wood, and the floor, bed, and walls were decorated with earth-toned textiles - Indian, or African.

She threw her duffel on the queen bed and nodded at Kurt to indicate he was welcome to enter.

"Well, five days," she said, arranging her hair in the mirror. "And two incidents you have shared. Are you sure that was all, Kurt? I know you like the dark, but..." She raised an eyebrow at his reflection.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt entered the room slowly, brushing his hand across the door jamb. Entering her dwelling space always made him slightly nervous because it was so cleverly done. Cloth draped the walls, giving off a very refined quality, and the antique furniture lent an air of sophistication that was absent from his own room. Aside from the obvious difference in the size of the bed - Ororo's was a queen with an illusion of luxury, while Kurt had opted for a single twin with starched sheets - his walls were nearly bare save for the crucifix hanging above his bed and the posters opposite it, hung in ramshackle fashion as mementos of his time with the circus. The temperature was beginning to rise, though, and Kurt was having trouble with melting Blu-Tac. He made a mental note to purchase push-pins and stopped in the middle of the floor.

"Well," Kurt said, shuffling from foot to foot and watching Ororo in the mirror, "Alex Summers has shown up with inquiry about his brother, Scott." Scratching his head, he thought back to that day. "Cal showed up, which helped slightly with my nerves, because at least I know how to deal with her, but Alex seemed a dour young man and I did not have the answers he needed. I tried to help him with the database, but I have very little knowledge about computers in general, much less about the verdammt machines we have here."

He sighed, looking at his fingers. "I had to use chopsticks again to use the keyboard. You can imagine the look that got me."

[Storm]

Hmm. No small wonder Kurt had been stressed. The damn job was a complicated one; it required total organization, technological ability, and flawless people skills, among other qualities. She suddenly felt bad for saddling her friend with the job.

She couldn't, however, suppress a burst of laughter at his final statement. She put a slim hand over her mouth as she turned to face him, but it didn't really hide her amusement. "I can imagine. Oh Kurt - I apologize. I know it can be a very difficult job."

Her face sobered as she considered the visitor. "So Alex is here. I will have to go speak with him. You have done enough, I think."

It wouldn't be a very long conversation. Storm had never cared much for Havok. She didn't hate him or anything; they just had very little in common.

[Nightcrawler]

Shrugging absently, Kurt shucked his coat, hanging it over one arm. "I was simply unprepared for everything that would need to be involved. I would be better ready if I have to take it again." He briefly considered throwing himself down at her feet and begging to never have to do such a thing again, but it seemed rather unbecoming, so he resisted and kept his face and stance casual.

Instead he pulled the chopsticks out of his pocket and held them up for her. "When you do go see him, you may need these. Computers seem to be getting smaller and smaller, and I'm afraid even your dainty fingers will be hard pressed to press those keys."

Walking up next to her at the dresser, he proffered the chopsticks with a grin. "So, how was your vacation away from all this insanity?"

[Storm]

"Well, I am glad we did not decide to stay an extra few days." Ah, he had managed all right in the end. It was good to know she could count on him.

The chopsticks were a funny touch, too. She took them from his three-fingered hand, and with a few swift motions speared her hair in a twist. "They are useful," she said, looking in the mirror again.

"So, how was your vacation away from all this insanity?"

"Oh Kurt! Our vacation was WONderful." Her face lit up again at the reminder. She turned towards the bed and zipped open her duffel bag. "Bandero rented a little house on the beach in Southern California; we spent the time lounging about, sunbathing - reading - swimming - "

Ororo's eyes got a rather faraway look at that last one. Her 'swimming' was unusually hands-on, if you will. She had gone alone to sea at midnight almost every night, playing with the waves and tides and fogbanks. Deep-sea diving was amazing when you started fifty feet up in the air; and there was no better cure for claustrophobia than the open ocean.

"I had missed the water," she said to Kurt, by way of explanation, and turned to her duffel bag again.

[Nightcrawler]

"Ach, I am too, Göttin. The foray into madness was enough for me; I do not wish to 'put up shop' there, so to speak." He motioned to the bed with raised eyebrows, asking silently if he could sit.

So, Southern California, eh? It certainly sounded like a wonderful chance to get away. Perhaps he would take her example and take a vacation of his own. He had been wanting to get back and see the Bavarian Alps again...

"It sounds lovely, Ororo. Most restful."

[Storm]

"Oh please, sit. You are welcome in my room," she replied to Kurt's expression.

Storm began to unpack her duffel bag. From the main compartment, she pulled a bundle of dirty clothes, most of them with various earthy stains. She frowned slightly and threw them into the laundry basket as she talked.

"It was amazing. The weather was perfect - not that I could not have changed it, but it let me relax." She smiled. "There were plenty of people on vacation, but our house had its own private stretch of beach! I believe I only traveled inland two or three times, for groceries, and perhaps some shopping. Otherwise we were drawn like gulls to the shore."

From a plastic bag she pulled out a skimpy black bathing suit. It would have been a bikini, if its top and bottom weren't held together by a large golden ring. She held it up to take a look, and it scattered a dusting of sand over the floor.

"I believe I will be cleaning sand from my belongings for longer than I was away."

She flung open the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony, where she draped the suit over the railing. She left the door open when she came back, and a warm evening breeze drifted inside.

"What else... Oh Kurt, we went snorkeling! It was incredible. I, unfortunately, am not a licensed diver, but being on the surface was enough. We had to go farther afield - there were no reefs near our house - but ah, it was worth the effort."

She went back to her bag. Outside, it began to rain on the bikini.

"Oh, I almost forgot - I brought you something." She pulled something out of a side pocket and held in a closed hand.

[Nightcrawler]

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Kurt watched her move around, taking in her words quietly. It sounded like Ororo had enjoyed her vacation immensely, and he was glad for it. She had seemed so stressed lately, tense with all the resposibility thrown on her, so it was good that she had had a chance to relax.

Of course, thoughts of relaxation dissipated as she pulled the swimsuit out of the bag. Squinting his eyes shut slightly, he focused on the sand that fluttered down to the floor. "I hear that is the way of the beach, Ororo. You get sand in the most uncomfortable places."

His ears perked up as she mentioned a gift, and he scooted forward on the edge of the bed. "A present? For me? Ororo, you shouldn't have." He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then with a bamf! he was hanging down from the ceiling directly in front of her, his tail curled around one of the beams spanning the length as his mouth parted in a wide grin. "Well, perhaps you should have. What did you bring me, Göttin?"

[Storm]

Storm was surprised, but it only registered in a start; she was used to her friends showing up in unexpected places. Particularly this one. She looked severely at the face upside-down in front of her. "Oh, perhaps I will keep it to myself. You seem quite ungrateful."

She stared him down for a moment before smiling. She opened her hand and held the object up so he could see it.

It was a beautiful shell, quite thick and the color of pearly cream. The motions of the tide had polished it, but on its last journey to the shore, the waves had been a harsh mistress, and large pieces of its once circular shape had been broken away. Ororo had seen it poking through the sand, crudely formed and lopsided, but still the shape of a cross.

"It reminded me of you.

Haven't you ever been to the beach, Kurt?"

[Nightcrawler]

The playful expression slid from his face and he flipped down to the floor, taking the shell from her hands with careful reverence. "Mein Gott, Ororo, it is quite beautiful," he said quietly, turning it over in his palms, watching the light from outside catch on the smooth finish. His mind began to work through plans for a crucifix or a rosary. It would be easy to make with such a beautiful piece to feature.

Slipping it into his pocket, he looked up at her with a casual matter-of-fact attitude. "I am afraid that the beach is a difficult place for me to fit in. There is very little clothing to hide..." He thought about it, and then shrugged. "Well, me.

"And with the circus, there was never time to take a vacation. Money was always scarce, so we had to make sure we were always working."

[Storm]

Something about the quiet tone of Kurt's voice caught in Ororo's ear and made her exhale. She put aside the feeling as fond friendship. "I am glad you like it." ...It was either that, or buy him a keychain like for everyone else.

When he mentioned clothing, her mind's eye snapped back to Bandero on the beach, and suddenly it was hard to keep her mind on the present. Now he was a fine tan specimen of manhood, even with the mechanical leg. Actually, she thought the leg gave him a sort of futuristic, high-class/working-class charm. Or something. Mm.

Oh yes, conversational skills.

...we had to make sure we were always working."

"I hope that was not too hard on you." 'Ro turned back to her bag, emptying the last of her belongings and taking the bag towards the screen door. "We will get you to the beach eventually." She opened the door with a foot and stepped outside to shake the bag out over the railing.

"Come on out, the evening is lovely."

[Nightcrawler]

Throwing his coat onto the bed, Kurt followed her outside, hopping up onto the railing and blessing Xavier again for having all the handrails in the mansion reinforced to hold weight. "I like it very much. Danke schön.

"The circus was a good life. I was naturally gifted enough that it insured my place among the acrobats and not among the freaks." Not that it wouldn't come later, he though ruefully, but he did his best to keep his face neutral, focusing instead on the setting sun. The cities were nearby, so the chemicals in the air gave the light an orange hue. Taking a deep breath, Kurt felt his muscles relax.

"I suppose that the X-Men would be able to find a stretch of beach where even I would not be noticed," he chuckled, still looking forward. "I have grown weary of always having to swim in the pool here and nowhere else. Even a beach simulation in the danger room does not have the same feeling to it." He thought about it for a moment. "Although it is frighteningly close."

[Storm]

Ororo shook the bag out, examining the cracks for every grain as she listened to Kurt. "Mm, the Danger Room cannot quite capture the smells of the real world, though. There is a unique quality in salty beach air." She took a deep breath.

Ooooh. "And in my tea roses. Can you smell them?" She peered over the railing into the garden below, and was quiet for a moment.

"Well, we should make the trip this summer." It would be a good outing for the students who were staying during the hot months. She looked over at Kurt, pleased for the inspiration, and put the bag down by her feet.

"We could stay into the evening, if every long day ends as beautifully as this."

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers growing beneath them. She was right about the smells - the Danger Room just seemed to be lacking that vital piece that made it seem perfect.

"I think the students would be grateful to get out of the mansion. Some of the... more obvious mutants would appreciate being able to leave as well." As the teacher with the most unique appearance, it was often up to him to counsel those with issues about their appearance. "Quite an excellent idea."

With that, he fell silent again, looking out and enjoying the sunset, his tail curling around the bar next to him as he sighed in contentment.

[Storm]

[Annnnnd scene.

Yay.]