NYC - Beers in Bars (Kurt/Maddie)

[Nightcrawler]

The street was a quiet one, thinner than the normal lanes in New York, but with an openly mutant-friendly bar called the Gene Pool nestled on one corner, it wasn't much of a surprise. The only noise ever came from the bar itself, with its occasionally rowdy patrons, or from the protesters that gathered outside from time to time.

Luckily for Kurt as he materialized in his characteristic puff of smoke, all the protesters that could have been there seemed to be at home with the flu (which they would probably have all blamed on one of the mutants inside - and who knows? It might have been true), so he had no trouble as he adjusted the hem of his button-up shirt, shifted his coat on his shoulders and stepped inside.

Apparently, the owner of the bar was a mutant. Low level, but obvious enough with piercing red eyes. Mel, he called himself, and Kurt had been lucky enough to find references to the bar. Calling the number to make sure it wasn't a hoax, Kurt was happy to find that Mel himself was one of the kindest people he'd ever talked to, and his mutation made the bar safer than most: he was able to see spikes in body temperature, and after years of practice he was able to nearly always distinguish between the spikes that indicated violence on the rise and the heat that meant... something else.

Apparently, he saw plenty of spikes from that too.

Waving to the middle-aged man behind the bar - who was given away as the proprietor by those eyes - he looked around the dark room, searching for the red hair that would give her away.


The telltale red hair was hanging down loose, as usual, its owner sitting happily in the corner of the room having a conversation with a very interesting young thing who had bought her a beer and was thinking very creative things about her. Madelyne Pryor was dressed as she usually did in public - stilletos, a black pencil skirt and a white blouse, but she was apparently missing several buttons this time.

She'd lost them while she was waiting for Kurt. It was rather boring just sitting around, and being in a bar packed full of mutants, she was feeling much more comfortable than usual. It was a good find - she was rather annoyed that she hadn't known about it before now.
One hand raised at the sight of that lovely blue skin, her lips curling into one of her more suggestive smiles. Patting the girl on the leg gently, Maddie waited for Kurt to make his way over to her.

She'd been looking forward to this.


Kurt was making his way towards the bar when he saw the graceful wave and the red hair, and he turned and slid his way around bar patrons carefully, sidestepping and slinking forward in his usual catlike way. Smiling amiably at the young woman who stood up and moved away, Kurt stopped in front of Maddie. "Guten Tag, Madelyne. It is good to see you again. Thank you for meeting me early."

His eyes took in her appearance as quickly as possible; he didn't want to let them linger anywhere too long, although he had to admit it was difficult. While her dress had a professional air about it, he had trouble imagining anyone wearing heels quite like that to work... or letting a blouse hang open quite like hers was. He could nearly see her...

Bra. And there it was as she shifted slightly.

Where are the buttons to close it?

Tearing his eyes away from the view she was offering, he smiled and sat down next to her, his tail curling up over his knee. "How are you? I hope you have not been waiting too long."


Her smile only increased at his train of thought, and she motioned to the now vacant seat next to her. She'd managed to get a view of the television - there was baseball on, which she only really liked because of the uniforms. It was those tight pants.

"Lovely to see you again, Kurt. I hope you don't mind that I started without you - Samantha insisted on buying me a drink." The young woman was sitting across the room now, gazing over still. Maddie flashed her a quick smile before turning her attention completely back to her companion. There was a reason they'd arranged to meet - unfortunately, it was much less interesting than what she might have hoped, and she found herself gazing at his tail for a moment almost absently.

Well, she couldn't help it. She was a creative person.

"So, how has everything been with your... friends?" She twisted to look at him, her blouse gaping just a little with the motion. It was entirely deliberate, of course, although she hadn't gone so far as to use her power. There were far better things she could use that for when it came to her... more usual activities.


Kurt's eyes followed Maddie's to the young woman. "Not at all. Perhaps later I shall thank her for keeping you occupied until I arrived."

Waving down one of the few serving girls in the establishment - a teenager with pink hair, which Kurt assumed might just be real - he placed his order, remembering absently that the normal German method, "Bitte ein Bitt," would do him little good here. "Bitte, the darkest beer you have."

Turning back to Maddie, Kurt's yellow eyes caught a full view of her open blouse before he managed to snap them away. Mentally shaking the thoughts it brought from his mind, he focused on her face with a smile. "My friends are doing nicely." If nicely means arrested and murdered. "Things progress as normal."

He had to stop his eyes as they slid back down her neck. Focus, Kurt!


“Oh? I thought I saw a news report about an arrest. If that's normal..." She smiled, taking a sip of her beer.

"Well, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised about some of them. I do hope that Logan recovered from his sudden illness quickly enough." There was still a tinge of annoyance in her tone when she mentioned him - she'd had several vivid dreams lately about tormenting him, which had made her feel slightly better.

Crossing one leg over the other, still turned somewhat toward him, Maddie took a long sip of her beer, her lips lingering for just a moment around the neck of the bottle.

"I'm sure there was a reason that we were meeting today. Your DNA test, I believe." She still didn't believe that it was true. A resemblance meant nothing, and the integrity of the test was compromised in her mind. Madelyne was still convinced that it was all either a misunderstanding or something slightly more creepy.


Kurt winced inwardly as she mentioned the arrest. He had to remember that she was a telepath; thinking about the happenings at the school probably wasn't the best idea.

Telepath... Kurt's eyes widened slightly at the thought when he realized she would be able to know exactly what he was thinking about her!

Desperately trying to push all inappropriate thoughts from his mind - which was becoming increasingly difficult as she kept her body turned towards him - he focused on her next question. Ja, think about Logan. Good plan. "Ja, he has recovered," he said, turning away as the girl returned with his pint.

Of course, he turned back just in time to see Maddie wrap her lips around the bottleneck.

Gott in Himmel...

"Ja... eh... the DNA..."

Kurt really needed to start thinking clearly again.


Suppose it'd be best to stop teasing him.

It's just too fun.

Not to mention too easy.

"The DNA," she prompted, "I'm not sure that I trust it, since I've got no way of knowing where the sample came from. I'm happy to look at some other method, though. Fingerprints, maybe?"

It was so hard to resist, Madelyne enjoyed her games far too much. Still, she could at least try to be business-like with him. It was a good thing he'd found a bar. She could only imagine what she'd have done if they were in her hotel room.

"That's assuming that you've got Dr. Grey's fingerprints on file, still. I'm sorry again if I'm causing any grief, unintentional as it may be."


Blinking and taking a large swig of his beer (he tried to have as few vices as possible, but he was German), he set the pint down on the table and focused his thoughts.

"No, it is no trouble at all. There are just some of our people who would like to be absolutely sure."

Leaning back in his seat, he let his tail slip off his knee and curl around the leg of his chair, out of the way of anyone who might happen to be walking by. "If you would prefer to send the samples to our scientific friend yourself, so as to put your mind at rest, I can get you her address. Matching fingerprints would likely require you coming to our mansion, and with Logan around, I think we both know it woud be best to avoid that."

Breathing deeply and calming himself, Kurt picked up his beer again. There... that's better.


"That would be wonderful."

She quite fancied the idea of going to the mansion, though. If only because it would give her a chance to mess with Logan, and that would amuse her. He deserved it, what with his creepy little bathroom rummaging episode.

"I'd feel much better about giving the samples myself. You understand, of course, I'd like to be sure just as much as your people."

Maddie didn't bother thinking about what a second positive result would mean. In her mind, there was no chance of it.

She took another sip of her beer, careful to keep the motion relatively innocent. Not that she could help where Kurt's mind went. It was hardly her fault what he thought in the 'privacy' of his own mind. Maddie was one of the few people she'd ever known to actually have privacy - some kind of mental cloak, that she had very little control over. As far as she could tell, she'd always had it.

"I must confess, I've been rather interested in Jean Grey ever since your visit - I was aware of her before, of course, but never really thought twice about her. She was... involved with Logan somehow?" Maddie could still see that pathetic kicked-puppies look Logan had given her.


Kurt let his eyes roam the dark bar, looking over the various patrons; mutants of every color dotted the room. Kurt could only imagine what their powers were.

Which is what he was trying to do with the part of his brain that wasn't carrying on the conversation. He figured as long as he kept his eyes off of Maddie, his brain would have an easier time of staying off her too.

It wasn't really working.

"I'll be sure to get the contact information for Dr. MacTaggart as soon as possible. I'm sure she will have a good idea of what she needs."

At the question about Logan, Kurt involuntarily looked back at Maddie - which was a mistake, since her blouse was still hanging open. Crossing his legs inconspicuously, Kurt took another long drink from his beer. "No, not quite. There was... tension of a sort between them."


Well, at least she'd feel better if she did share identical DNA with the woman, knowing that she hadn't actually gone there. He was far too... hairy. Emotional. Creepy. Interesting that there had even been tension, although she had certainly been interested in all sorts over the years. Of course, this information also made things much easier if she ever did get a chance to mess with his head, so Maddie was happy.

"Ah, I see. Did you know her well yourself?" Shifting slightly, tugging her blouse down just a bit in what could have been an attempt to be slightly more presentable, Maddie kept her features nothing more than curious.

Well, she was curious. Perhaps not entirely about Jean Grey, but she was curious.


Scratching his chin as Maddie made herself slightly less distracting, he set his beer down again. "I didn't know her for long, but she scanned through my mind, freed some memories. That sort of thing leaves a mark on a person."

In fact, it left a significant mark on a person. She hadn't been as powerful telepathically as she became, so when she'd made her way through his mind it was as though she'd trailed her finger along a foam wall. Emotional attachment could develop from something so simple. Even though he hadn't known her for long, he did feel close to her.

Leaning forward in his chair, Kurt focused his yellow eyes on her face again, taking his mind away from melancholy thoughts. "So, Madelyne, how has your apartment hunt gone?"


"Oh, very well, thank you. I'm going through final negotiations for my place, although I still haven't found a suitable abode for Kyle."

It hadn't been so easy to find two apartments in close proximity, so eventually she'd given up and just found herself one in the right neighbourhood. Which may have been different for her than for other people - she wanted to be close to certain places that she was quite familiar with, in an area where her tastes were unremarkable.

Of course, Kyle might not like it. She didn't find herself caring overmuch, Maddie was that pleased to be back in New York city. There was no doubt in her mind that he would fire her - his knowing about her mutation had the added bonus of him apparently not wanting her to 'turn to the dark side' or some such nonsense, so he wasn't going to just let her go so soon. He had his games to play, and she had hers, as long as she was still doing her job there was no reason for him to even think on where she lived or what she wore in her spare time. He liked what she wore in her spare time.

"What exactly do you do in your spare time, Kurt? I can't imagine that your friends could be... busy all the time?"

For some reason, speaking openly about the X-Men in a somewhat shady mutant bar didn't feel like the best idea.

[Nightcrawler]

"Ah yes... And how is Herr Kennedy finding New York? Pleasant, I hope." Despite the absolutely sleezy impression Kurt got from Kyle, he did hope he was adjusting well enough. Being somewhere new could be extremely trying.

Kurt knew that he always enjoyed New York. It was such a huge change from even the large cities in Germany. Even though he didn't feel quite comfortable going out in, say, Rockefeller Center just yet... there were plenty of dark places where he could relax, and there were always places like the Gene Pool.

Thank goodness she didn't mention my... occupation. Kurt wasn't entirely sure, but he figured that at least a few of the frequenters of the bar wouldn't take a shine to it, and he hadn't been a bar fight since he was 19. Margali had not liked that at all.

"Wish I had more spare time," Kurt chuckled, taking another drink of beer. "I practice acrobatics, make sure I don't lose my fencing edge, things like that. Or meet attractive women in seedy bars."


"Oh, he travels back and forth a lot, but I think he likes New York." Aside from that incident with the mutants robbing an armoured car, he hadn't seemed to enjoy that. Being buried underground would probably do that to you, though.

At Kurt's next comment, though, all Madelyne could do was smile rather suggestively.

"Acrobatics? You'll have to show me sometime." The words could have been innocent, if they hadn't been paired with her expression. Draining the last of her beer, Maddie pushed the empty bottle across the table toward the passing waitress, her shirt falling open just a little as she leant over.

She smiled at Kurt again. "Can I tempt you?"

She left it a good few seconds until she motioned at his beer.


Kurt nodded, slipping his arms out of his jacket and letting it fall over the back of his seat. "From what I have heard, he certainly has the mutation to facilitate such travel. Still, there is nowhere quite like New York."

Kurt was reaching for his beer again when her smile caught him off guard. Taking another long drink from the pint, he set it down and tried to pass her comment off innocently, as if he hadn't noticed. He almost succeeded in convincing himself. "Well, I haven't performed in a long time, but perhaps I'll swing from a lamppost later."

And then she was leaning forward again, giving Kurt a rather provocative view down the front of her blouse, and Kurt's acrobatic thoughts stopped being innocent.

Tempt me? Ja, I'm sure you could.

Clearing his throat, he nodded after she motioned toward his near-empty glass.


Limited though it was, there were times that Madelyne really enjoyed her telepathy.
Mr Wagner. The mental words were the first time she'd given him any indication that she was listening in on his thoughts, and the look she gave him was much more amusement than scandal. She made no attempt at appearing innocent - it was obvious that neither of them were, so what was the point? If he was more innocent then she believed... Well, that could be changed. Her smile increased.

Motioning to the pink-haired waitress, Madelyne ordered a pair of pints.

"So tell me about yourself, Kurt. Have you always been such a lovely shade of blue, or did that kick in with your mutation?" She could only imagine what it would have been like to undergo a drastic change like that. Her own mutation had appeared early, but she'd been lucky enough that she could hide it if she wanted to. Things were improving, it was true, but the world was still not entirely accepting of their kind.


If Kurt could blush as she spoke into his head, he would have. As it was, his face simply grew warmer, and he unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and folled them up to his elbows.

There had been some thoughts that he definitely hadn't wanted broadcast into anyone else's mind. After all, he was just a mutant, and nowhere near a saint. And he had a feeling that even Saint Paul would have had trouble not thinking the same way when presented with the views Kurt had received.

Frau Pryor. Have you been listening in on me this whole time?

He really hoped she hadn't.

Leaning back in his seat, he smiled at her amiably, his brow arching slightly. "No, I was born this way. Not quite so fuzzy then, of course, but you get the idea."


I've been trying not to, but some things... attract attention. I'm sure you can understand.

Her smile was still amused, and she took a moment while the waitress brought back their drinks to take a sip and nod appreciatively. Most people wouldn't have taken her for a beer drinker. Then again, most people probably wouldn't have gotten any guesses about what Madelyne enjoyed right. Not if they were trying to make guesses about the real Madelyne Pryor, at any rate. Sometimes she herself forgot which one that was.

"Did you always have your abilities, or did they develop later?" She'd always been curious about those born obvious mutants. Maddie didn't know many, and she was always interested in finding out more. Of course, she was partial to hands-on learning.


Ah... yes. Well, you have been attracting attention yourself. He let his yellow eyes glance down at her open blouse briefly to make his point. You make it difficult to think otherwise.

Picking up his own beer, Kurt took a long, slow drink, enjoying the cold liquid as it slid down his throat. He wasn't terribly surprised that she enjoyed beer; where he came from, most people did. On a regular basis. It was just what you had to drink. He'd been enjoying it since he was 16.

Setting it back down, he focused his eyes back on her face. And when they tried to drift, he forced them back. It was becoming increasingly more difficult not to let his eyes just roam over her body... but she probably knew that already. He was thinking it, after all.

"I've had part of my mutation from early on. My agility, yes. Teleporting developed later, though."


I'm terribly sorry, I seem to have lost some buttons at some point.

Yes, they'd been lost into the air as random atoms - Madelyne couldn't reconstruct something once she'd deconstructed it down to that level.

She did her very best not to smile too much at his mental struggle, though she certainly didn't look upset by it or anything. There was, after all, nothing wrong with looking - if she had a problem with people looking at her, she wouldn't wear the things she did. Considering him over her glass for a moment, her expression simply curious, Maddie nodded.

"Teleporting would be... useful." Yes, she could fly if she wanted to, but that was entirely different to moving yourself from place to place instantaneously.

"Did you have to learn to do it properly? I imagine mishaps could be... dangerous."


Kurt felt the heat returning to his face. Yes, I had noticed. Rather changes the intent of the piece of clothing, doesn't it? With the buttons attached to it - and properly used - it was made to be appealing, but still to cover up. With them missing, every time she leaned forward Kurt's mind spiraled downward, and he wasn't used to having that happen.

What would Ororo think?

He felt a twinge of bitter sadness. It doesn’t matter what she thinks. She won’t care.

Picking his glass back up and leaning back in his chair, he did his best to push that to the back of his mind. It wasn't something he needed anyone else picking up on. Instead, he focused on...

Her blouse.

No, teleporting! Focus on teleporting!

"It certainly has its uses," he said, still not sure entirely sure what he was referring to. "It did take some getting used to, some practice, and it is not without its own danger... but as long as I pay attention, I stay safe."


If there had been a mental way to spread her hands in protested innocence, Maddie would have. Instead she just smiled at him and concentrated on the verbal conversation.

Because she was having trouble keeping herself from laughing out loud at his mental state.

Well, he was a man. She could hardly blame him. Eventually she had to cover her amusement with another long sip of beer, nodding seriously at him as she put her glass down.
"I know the feeling." Maddie had found that her mental state affected her control of her powers, so she had to remember not to use them when her emotions were running wild. Of course, sometimes her emotions running wild made her want to use them, which had partly led to this very meeting - if she'd been able to keep her head when the group had visited her apartment, they likely would have gone home empty handed and she'd never have heard from them again.

Looking at Kurt, Maddie couldn't decide if that would have been a good or bad thing. It certainly would have made things easier with Kyle - that he knew her secret had left her with a sort of forced loyalty, in the hopes that he wouldn't expose her to the world.

"I suppose you have plans for the rest of the evening?" Though her smile wasn't entirely innocent, it wasn't so suggestive as it could have been.


Kurt could tell she was enjoying herself, probably at his expense for the moment, but he took a drink and simply smiled back at her, his tail uncurling from the leg of the chair and brushing along the floor.

She had a look of concentrated sincerity as she put her glass down, so Kurt canted his head to one side and nodded. "Well, with powers like yours, I would imagine you would definitely need to be careful." If she was anything like Jean, it was imperative that she did pay attention; otherwise, it could very well cause a catastrophe.

As she asked her next question, he scratched his chin with his free hand. Here was a tricky situation. His plans had consisted of going back to the mansion after their meeting and doing whatever he could to pass the time, but that had very little appeal as a plan for the rest of the night. However, Maddie seemed to be a little more... provocative than he had originally imagined, and he was having enough trouble keeping his mind completely out of whatever gutter it was bound for.

Still, he had been having an enjoyable enough time, and he wasn't about to start lying to her now.

"Actually, I have no plans."


"What a coincidence, neither do I." Of course, Maddie's mind was quickly coming up with plans - not even the kind that would make the blue teleporter blush, either. If he was even capable of blushing. Well, not all of them, at any rate.

"It's been some time since I've been in New York, maybe you could refresh my memory of the city."

She took a long sip of her beer as she paused to think.

"Of course, I'd go back to the hotel and change first." A flicker of disappointment crossed her face, but she knew that Kurt was much more likely to agree if she started behaving a bit more ... demurely. She reminded herself mentally that just because he was a mutant, he wasn't necessarily trustworthy. He was one of the X-Men after all, she needed to be more careful what she said.


Kurt downed the rest of his second pint, setting the empty glass on the table. He supposed he could stay in New York for a bit and show her around - which he was much more likely to do now that he had a couple beers in him, despite being seen in public - and no one was expecting him back at the mansion any time soon. Ororo wanted to hear what he'd learned about Maddie when he returned, but he had little desire to have that appointment anytime soon.

He was surprised to see the disappointment flit across her face. "You change only if you want to. There is nothing inherently wrong with your attire." You are just tempting, that's all. The thought was already through his mind before he had time to stop it. He just prayed she hadn't been listening at that moment.


"Ah, but not everyone will see it that way." Particularly since she was planning on walking around with a fuzzy blue German. For some reason, a few of the more extreme anti-mutant types seemed to think that women needed protecting from the evil, corrupting mutants. Madelyne had come across a few of them before - they never seemed to understand that it was she who was the, if not evil, corrupting mutant. Being in the slightly more dangerous area that they were, in a place attractive to the more extreme anti-mutant protestors, it would be easier to just avoid trouble in the first place.

"And I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable." She gave him a quick smile before finishing the rest of her own beer and picking up her purse from next to her. Leaving a few bills on the table, Maddie looked back at Kurt with a smile.

"Well, shall we?"