Taking the Lead

Posted on Mon Jun 23rd, 2025 @ 7:23pm by Kennedy Kelly & Kurt Wagner

18,269 words; about a 91 minute read

Mission: Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: Mansion
Timeline: January 27, 1991

Pausing in the threshold of the reception hall, Kurt took in the soft murmur of music and clinking of glasses mingling with bursts of laughter that echoed from table to table. The transformation was stunning. What was once an austere formal dining room had bloomed into a luminous celebration, awash in warm candlelight and gold accents. Garlands draped from the ceiling beams shimmered with fairy lights, and the rich aroma of roasted meats and spiced pastries drifted from the extravagant buffet table, where a chef in white carving thick slices of prime rib beside silver trays of gourmet sides.

He’d taken his time getting here. After the final photos with the bridal party, he’d quietly slipped away to remove his officiant's robe, revealing the crisp, classic tuxedo beneath. It wasn’t ostentatious, just elegant, like the old-world gentility befitting the mansion itself. A bowtie, satin lapels, and tailored fit, it was all carefully chosen to match the bridal party, but more importantly, to honor the occasion.

Now, standing here, seeing the joy spill from every corner of the room, Kurt felt it resonate in his chest. Scott and Jean glided among the guests, radiant and completely in sync. Kurt’s heart swelled with pride and hope from being part of their momentous day. In a world that so often tilted toward darkness, this was one of the rare moments of light.

His attention was caught by a subtle wave from Professor Xavier at the faculty table, a quiet beckoning to a seat beside old friends and trusted colleagues. He nodded in acknowledgment and began to cross the room—until he saw her.

Kennedy.

His steps faltered. Breath caught.

She was seated at an adjacent table from the Professor, angled slightly away, lost in conversation with another guest Kurt didn’t recognize. But the light caught her all the same. Her gown, elegant and modern, shimmered against her blonde hair which was styled in soft, sculpted waves, the kind that made her look like she’d stepped straight off a magazine cover.

He'd seen her like this recently… on New Year’s Eve.

Since then they’d kept things light. Casual. Morning coffee, passing conversation, the occasional shared silence that said more than words. But he hadn’t pressed. Not after that night.

And yet now… now the air shifted, maybe his heart along with it, and he couldn’t help but stare. It wasn’t just how lovely she looked. It was the sense of presence. Of poise. Of knowing her own power, even if she didn’t flaunt it.

She glanced up and saw him. Their eyes met.

For a breathless second, the music faded. The lights dimmed. There was only the thrum in his chest, the slight flush in her cheeks, and a flicker of something unspoken sparking between them like a struck match. Kurt blinked and smiled weakly.

Kennedy returned his small smile, that signature red lipstick she often wore accentuated the slight expression. She lifted a white gloved hand and waved at him but the greeting was short lived as Shiro Yoshida cleared his throat in a passive request for her to return her attention towards their current conversation.

With her back to Kurt, he could only watch the expression on the Japanese man’s face to gauge the nature of their conversation. Shiro seemed enraptured by Kennedy in the same way that so many other men had before him. His eyes lingered on her lips before he returned to gazing into her eyes. Kennedy said something that made him chuckle and Kurt watched the man fall for her right before his very eyes.

Impulsive need for more took over Shiro and he reached out for Kennedy’s hand while nodding his head towards the dancefloor at the front of the ballroom. Before she really answered, he took her by the hand and guided her out to the floor where several other couples gently swayed to the mild dinnertime music that played.

She was dressed in a rich, royal blue gown with an off-the-shoulders, sweetheart neckline. Its fitted bodice and full skirt were subtly embellished with sparkles that caught the light while she moved. Once she caught up to Shiro’s urgent pace to get to the dancefloor, a full length slit that started at her upper thigh was exposed and her slender legs were showcased with every step she took. Combined with the long white opera gloves and the Hollywood waves her golden hair had been styled into, Kennedy took on a look of timeless beauty and elegance. In moments like this it was easy to remember that she was born for this, an American princess meant to captivate the public.

Shiro took her by the hand and pulled Kennedy into the same casual position that so many of the other dancers took, his hand moving down to her lower back rather than the more formal location near her shoulder blades. He held her close while they moved and then Kurt saw it, Kennedy’s head shook in disapproval over something the Japanese man said before one of her typical wet-cat-like frowns appeared on her face.

Frozen for a moment, Kurt had felt paralyzed to see Kennedy shift her attention to somebody else, anybody else. How had he taken for granted such attention? Now was he no longer her first choice? Was this just the inevitable outcome from giving her the space she'd wanted? His heart sank to his feet while the Japanese nobleman led her to the dancefloor, easy to be trampled underfoot while Kennedy's fated prince offered her the destiny she had always wanted.

Turning away, Kurt was prepared to let the future happen as the way Kennedy had always dreamed, the way she had told him she yearned for it to. He even said a quiet prayer for her happiness.

But then his keen eye saw something that should not be. A roving hand. A look of disapproval. Clear dissatisfaction.

BAMF!

Before he realized what he was doing, Kurt had placed himself at Kennedy's side.

Shiro had been momentarily distracted by the spade-tipped tail which firmly tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him first to turn, then release Kennedy in search of the one who had been audacious enough to interrupt.

Kurt's wiry frame had already insinuated between Shiro and Kennedy, too close for comfort. The Japanese man stepped backwards with a baritone blue streak that would require a translator.

“Mind if I cut in?” Kurt asked, ignoring Shiro’s protest with a knowing look.

“Thank you,” Kennedy whispered as a grateful smile washed away the look of dissatisfaction she had previously held.

Before Shiro could cause too much of a scene, Warren stepped in and directed him towards the bar at the other side of the room. Sometimes the best man’s responsibilities continued past the celebratory toast of the evening.

“Shiro is a little too… forward… for my taste.” He felt the tension leaving her body as Shiro was whisked away and they were finally free to talk. “I get the impression he doesn’t get told ‘no’ very often.”

“Shiro,” Kurt repeated, committing the name to memory. “Zhen may God hef mercy on his soul and ze souls of all who encounter him.”

It was as close to an insult as Kurt had ever delivered. Such dour sentiments were quickly banished, though, displaced by the exhilaration of being so close to Kennedy in rare form, surrounded by the solemn yet joyous atmosphere of true love and matrimony. Kurt knew he should step back himself. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.

“So…”

Being close together was nothing new for them. Acrobatic and gymnast training made them no stranger to one another’s bodies, but that context was entirely different with their focus on form and execution. Now… Kurt couldn't look away from Kennedy's dazzling eyes.

“May I hef zhis dance?” Kurt raised his hands in a humble invitation.

Kennedy chuckled at his polite question, he didn’t have to ask but he did anyway. “Ja.” She agreed using his common response as her mood continued to improve.

Raising their elbows and placing their hands in the required positions for ballroom dancing, the stance was a touch more formal than most of the people who merely swayed to the mellow dinner music. With a squaring of their shoulders and feet, Kennedy effortlessly slid her right foot back as Kurt’s left foot initiated the start of a simple waltz.

With a firm yet gentle touch, Kurt directed them to start moving in a slow and easy counterclockwise circle as their waltz allowed them to move across the floor as they conversed. Fluid, airy steps that caused them to float together thanks to their comfort level with one another.

“Ah… the ceremony was nice…” Kennedy attempted some polite conversation so that she didn’t lose herself in his radiant gaze. She never really knew where she stood with Kurt, the on and off signals he gave her often left her confused. Tonight was no different, he had been chivalrous and kind, but his eyes… they lingered far longer than they usually did. It was like he was looking at her for the first time.

Kennedy remained reserved, he had pulled the rug out from under her on more than one occasion. So she braced herself in anticipation of Kurt’s impending withdrawal from anything that might be considered romantic.

“They seem to love each other a lot… Scott and Jean…” Kennedy made sure to clarify the ‘they’ she was referring to. “You did a nice job capturing that as the officiant, I had to make the effort not to cry during the whole thing.”

“Danke. I labored over ze invocation for veeks.” Kurt and Kennedy flowed together as naturally as drops of water, allowing Kurt’s mind to focus on their conversation rather than what they were doing. “I vas surprised zhat zhey asked me but I am honored all ze same. It vas my first vedding, so I vanted to make it perfect. Und from vhat you say, it seems I vas close to ze target.”

“That’s probably why they picked you. You put more effort into it than just some pastor they could hire. Plus you know the real them,” Kennedy commented before Kurt directed her into a simple spin.

Letting his gaze settle on Scott and Jean for a moment, his face turned distant as his thoughts wandered away from him. “You are right. Zhey look so happy. Ah, to be vith ze vone you love so deeply. Is zhere a grander zhing all ze vorld? I do not zhink so.”

“No, there’s nothing grander. I read so many stories and fairytales. I want a love that rivals what I read on those pages. It seems like Scott and Jean have that,” Kennedy said with a wistful sigh.

Kurt looked back at Kennedy. For once, he did not mention Wanda, not in connection to that line of thought. “I never complimented your dress. You look…stunning. Und radiant, like ze sunrise zhrough ze clouds.”

“Oh, umm… thank you.” She seemed a little caught off guard by the compliment. Kurt’s praise was usually of a supportive or platonic nature. This didn’t feel like that type of compliment. “I bought this dress for another event, instead I came here, so it’s nice to finally wear it. I think it’s beautiful too.”

Nerves overcame her as they once again danced across that line that had been drawn between them, like always Kennedy did not know where to stand so she followed Kurt’s lead.

“But I have to confess, I don’t think this tuxedo suits you.” She laughed a little at her own comment and the reaction it created in Kurt. “It’s too simple and mundane, you need something with more panache.”

Kurt leaned his head back and chuckled. “Oh, you zhink so? I hef never worn a tuxedo before.” When he looked at her again, his grin was wide with fangs bared for the world to see. “I could not exactly perform a vedding dressed as ze Amazing Nightcrawler, could I?”

The rhetorical question made him laugh even harder, resulting in him holding Kennedy all the tighter just by reflex. Kurt's merry mood either didn't notice or didn't care. He was taking each moment as it came.
“Tell me vhat panache vould help zhis mundane tuxedo be more… ‘me’.”

“I don’t know, maybe something with a mandarin collar or an ascot.” For the first time ever, Kurt heard her snort from her laughter. The sound was equal parts jarring and adorable while being a rather unexpected sound from such a composed young woman.

Kennedy let go of his shoulder and placed a gloved hand over her mouth. But it was too late, the damage was done and she began to laugh even harder from the embarrassing sound. Which in return, caused her to snort once more.

Despite his best effort, Kurt could not hold back his laughter. Not even biting his lip helped hold it back. It just came out as a wheeze.

“Kennedy Kelly, you must be ze most mysterious creature in all of Creation.” Somehow Kurt got the words out through his giggling. “Just vhen I zhink I hef seen it all, you show me somezhingk altogesther new.”

Despite his teasing, the warmth of admiration was still apparent. The look in his golden eyes was one of pure delight. In truth, Kurt could not remember when he last had such a good time.

And so when the waltz music faded to an end, Kurt was not ready for it to be over. “Favor me vith anosther?”

“With pleasure,” Kennedy replied after she had taken a few deep breaths to calm herself. There was no place else she would rather be, time with Kurt had become her happy place.

She returned to their neutral starting stance before the next song began. But some of the previous formalities were relaxed as Kennedy pressed her body against his and she kept her eyes fixed on his rather than gazing past him cheek to cheek.

Looking into his eyes for a moment, Kennedy found herself lost in him and rambling as a swell of emotion overcame her. “Are you ever afraid that you’ll never find love?”

“Sometimes,” Kurt confessed. “‘God is love’ und peace on earth und good vill toward men, zhese zhings comfort me, but…” Such private thoughts were not for speaking out loud, but gazing into Kennedy’s eyes with no distraction or purpose other than the connection that arose between them opened the floodgates of his soul. Words came out whether he willed them or not. “... but I am an outsider in zhis celebration, und deep down I fear I alvays shall be ze man who marries osthers, not ze man who becomes married.”

Emotions began to flare within him. Since he couldn’t hold them back, Kurt tried to at least redirect them with humor. “Vhy do you ask?” he queried through a forced chuckle. “Is my fear zhat obvious?”

“Your fear?” She shook her head as she chuckled, the gentle movement made her waves of blonde hair glisten like spun gold. “That’s my own fear. Because I want it so badly I worry that it will always evade me. So I try to tell myself that a life without a partner, without romantic love, is one that can be rich and fulfilling, but it feels like a lie. I want my person, my other half. I see that in Scott and Jean and I can’t help but worry that I’ll never have that for myself.”

Kurt did his best not to scoff, though his disbelief was evident. “Oh, Kennedy, surely you hef your pick of suitors, like zhat Donald Blake person. Zhere is no vay you could end up alone, unless it vere by choice.” Not wanting to overstep again as he had nearly a month before, Kurt backpedaled a little. “Zhough it is good to hef standards, I suppose, knowing und vaiting for who you vant.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” In these close confines Kurt could feel the wave of disappointment that moved through Kennedy. It was this sinking weight that dragged her down and made her whole body heavy and slow. “I just don’t want to settle, I want someone…” she trailed off as she gazed at him and a pang of sadness stabbed at her heart. “It doesn’t matter what I want, you don’t need to hear my laundry list.”

She looked down at her feet for a second, it made it easier for her to stuff down the words she wanted to say. “Let’s just dance and enjoy ourselves, okay?”

It was impossible to miss the way that Kennedy’s happy demeanor turned sour. Like a cloud passing over the sun, her radiance was somehow muted. Kurt took this to mean he had upset her by once more saying what he ought not. She was still willing to dance, though, so Kurt indulged that without pushing his good fortune any further.

As the music swelled once more, a new melody rising soft and slow like a summer breeze, Kurt eased Kennedy closer, not out of boldness, but instinct. The press of her against him, the glide of her fingertips over his shoulder, the warmth of her palm in his, it all stirred something unexpected. Their touch wasn’t just physical proximity anymore. It dulled the ache of never being seen with the sweet, burning feeling of being known.

And she was close. So close. Kurt couldn’t tell whether it was perfume or shampoo or some concoction of the two, but the scent had taken hold of him. When she looked at him, her blue eyes limned with a vulnerability that hadn't been there while she had been laughing moments ago. He saw a longing within her, expressed in those eyes which spoke words she dared not say. With that look, she peered into him, and it did something dangerous to Kurt’s heart.

Their bodies swayed in rhythm, perfectly attuned from endless hours spent training in the Danger Room. That physical bond had always been there, but now it hovered upon the line between platonic and something else entirely. Something Kurt could feel in the warmth of her breath as it brushed his cheek with every turn, in the way her thighs met his with each step, no longer just following the music, but leading each other.

He should have stepped away. He should have lessened his grip. He should have said something. Apologized for being so forward, so uncouth, so extremely inappropriate, far worse than Shiro had been.

But instead… he twirled her again, spun her beneath the chandeliers and into his arms, pulling her back tighter than before. For a moment, her back was against him with his arms around her waist and her backside pressed against him. The carnal thrill left him breathless as they went into another spin.

When she came back to him, their hands joined once more, Kurt had surrendered to the moment. Their foreheads almost touched as they slowed for just a breath. Her fingers curled into his shoulder, and his tail instinctively wrapped around the small of her back, anchoring her there without a thought.

Their steps became small. Tight. Sultry. It was no longer about celebrating Scott and Jean. This dance, this moment was theirs and for them alone. In their whirlwind of movement, there was a silent declaration neither had the words for, not yet. But their bodies spoke fluently in a language all their own, a language of touch, breathless pauses, and furtive glances that both asked for and promised what they wouldn’t dare say aloud.

Kurt’s pulse hammered in his ears. His skin, beneath the velvet blue fur, burned with fiery passion. He had known this feeling before. But not like this. Never like this. Not with her. Not with anyone. He didn’t dare speak, not now. Because one word, one stumble of truth, and the world might tilt from the axis on which they’d found themselves spinning.

Kennedy had always lost herself when dancing, it was the place where her busy thoughts and intrusive ideas stopped. When she danced it allowed her to truly feel and express herself in ways that might be otherwise stifled by reason or expectations. So when Kurt spun her until she felt dizzy and the music thrummed and pulsed inside of her, she couldn’t help but listen to the silent requests of her body that were so often whispered to her whenever he was near.

At first it had been an excuse to perform an Argentinian tango, a dance that required the pair to remain connected, to touch, as their steps moved in unison in a forward and backward ocho that made her forget about everything but him. But with each heady spin and return to one another’s arms, Kennedy found their touch changing as their bodies melted and molded to each other and their hands roamed past their expected positions. Things grew heated as they both felt that connection between them without the inhibition of don’t.

Her hand left his shoulder and Kennedy reached out and cupped his cheek, her thumb slowly stroked his high cheek bone as she longingly gaze at him, her eyes were vibrant blue, icey in color but so warm and inviting. Spellbound and enraptured by one another, her lithe body leaned back into a deep dip and Kurt’s body followed. Kennedy lifted her knee to the level of his hip and the full length of her thigh was exposed thanks to the high slit of her dress. His hand found her thigh and Kurt’s touch roamed across the long stretch of naked skin.

Her breath caught in her throat as a single shiver passed through her body before her hips pressed into his, her heart raced and her body began to ache for his. Kennedy’s other hand reached out to hold his head in a silent request for him to stay with her like this. Kurt’s free hand moved to her back as they held that low, dramatic dip and their position became something far more intimate than a showy dance move. Lost in his touch and the hold he had on her, Kennedy instinctively tilted her head to the side as they shared a bated breath in a moment of surrender.

The pregnant pause in their dance left Kurt exhilarated. Kennedy’s thigh in the grasp of his hand, the flash of heat between their hips that called to him from her depths to consummate his manly duty for which he had been created, it kindled a desire which erupted from deep within him. It called to mind that kiss that Kennedy had impulsively given him on Christmas Eve. He wanted more. He wanted her. And he wanted that now.

Kurt’s spade-tipped tail caressed Kennedy’s cheek with the dexterity of either palm before bracing her for a heated kiss. Just as she had kissed him before, though Kurt let his lips hover in place once he had done so. His eyes were closed so he could savor the touch while cradling the burgeoning feelings in his heart lest they slip away.

Words were whispered in the magic of the moment, spoken just soft enough for their lips to brush together. "Ich liebe dich, Kennedy."

Though his words were delivered in his native tongue, Kennedy understood what he had said. She hiccuped and gasped for air as the weight of his confession crashed into her. It was sudden validation and clarity after months of not knowing. Kennedy wasn’t delusional for the feelings that had grown inside of her because he had felt them too. That revelation knocked her off her feet with a strength she hadn’t anticipated.

Kurt's eyes shot wide open into glowing golden saucers, incredulous at what had come from his mouth. This Yankee Princess, Boston Brahma, this beautiful savant, this angel made flesh, was pressed against him in the most intimate manner, and he had just confessed a love to her that he had not even admitted to himself. Somehow Kurt’s heart began beating even faster from panic at his sudden faux pas.

Kennedy didn’t balk or withdraw as he bared his heart to her, instead she appeared to blossom from his confession. As his eyes opened and he looked down at her, he was greeted with tender affection. “I love you too, Kurt.”

The way she said his name, it was a song that heralded the beginning of something new, something more, between them.

She leaned in and kissed him again, this time Kennedy was not soft and demure with her delivery. She always hit her mark with an accuracy that was both precise and lethal, this kiss was no different. The gentle brush of her lips to his had only been a taste of her, now Kurt could drink from her.

They were far from alone on the dance floor, despite the magnetism that resonated between them, as there were several couples who were lost in their own love stories. Few had the skill or naked passion that Kennedy and Kurt had exhibited. Those who had watched would have been astounded by the natural rhythm between the couple. And that’s just what they appeared to be.

Kurt felt heady from the prolonged kiss. Was this what intoxication felt like? Being love drunk from not only pouring himself into loving kisses but receiving it in return sent Kurt off his balance while also giving him a keen sense of direction. It felt like the centripetal force that guided him during a high-flying act, only instead of a trapeze, he was holding onto an amazing person who felt far too good for him. If he let go now, he feared he might plummet to his death all the same.

That triggered a survival instinct. Before he knew it, he had bamfed. The dance floor was gone, but Kennedy remained in his arms, her lips locked against his. There was a breeze blowing in the air. Kurt ignored it.

Another bamf took them away again, this time to the familiar seating where they shared their morning coffee together. Kurt would know the feel of it anywhere. Still they kissed, hands roving, clutching, grasping, almost competing with their lips for deepest connection.

At last they appeared in a quiet, still space cast in darkness, at least until their presence triggered emergency lighting. The snap of lighting, the clang and grind of gears shifting things into place revealed they were in the Danger Room. It was where their physical bond first took root, not in romance, but in diligence, admiration, and shared achievements.

“Hui,” Kurt whispered in breathless amazement. “I apologize… I do… I do not know vhat came over me,” he said, referring to the wanton teleporting, “at ze end zhere. Ve… ve are… I came… I brought us… und ve are…” His golden eyes shone with the emotional overflow that turned his speech to stammering. They glistened with so many things he didn’t know how to say.

“It’s okay,” Kennedy said with a laugh as she caressed his cheek again. Much like her last kiss, the gesture was much more confident and it allowed her to actually savor it. “I think surprise use of powers is actually par for the course around here. I personally have ruined some items around the school. If anything, our sudden departure might be taken as salacious but I don’t care.”

Kurt still held onto her tightly with his hold on her thigh and the splayed hand across her back. There was a feeling of shocked astonishment in his embrace, like if he let go of her she might vanish like a dream. It made Kennedy want to cling to him for as long as possible, until he finally believed she was real.

“I have wanted to kiss you like that for weeks now.” She chuckled at her fortune before she brushed her lips against him in a tease. “Had I known you wanted this too… I thought it was all in my head.”

Salacious. It did indeed seem that way. What had he done? Was Kennedy… no, Kennedy was not offended. If anything, she seemed elated.

“I… I am not normally ze kissing type,” Kurt admitted. “You are a wunderbar und I am here on ze good graces of Herr Professor und I do not know if I should hef done zhat.” The spinning plate of Kurt’s emotions wobbled back toward panic. “Are ve going to be okay? Vere Scott and Jean offended? Or Herr Professor? Vhat are ve going to do if…”

Kurt stopped his babbling by taking Kennedy and kissing her again, this time with tears threatening to well up in his eyes. “Should I stop? I cannot. I love you, Kennedy, but should I not?” His inner turmoil murmured through his fretful lips while his fingers ran through the back of her head and messed with her fancy styled hair. “Vhat vill happen… if I let you go…?”

“Don’t cry. You shouldn’t cry.” Kennedy worried about the spiral of emotions that suddenly appeared in Kurt, he seemed to regret what they had done. She had pushed him too far, he wasn’t ready for this… for her. Nevertheless she still tried to calm his frantic thoughts. “I doubt Scott or Jean even noticed and I don’t think anything bad is going to happen. I’m not a student here either, I’m paid to help with the younger kids. If you don’t want to let me go… don’t. Because I don’t want to let go of you either.”

She paused for a moment as she considered his reaction to all of this, Kennedy didn’t want him to feel embarrassed when it came to her. “But if this feels like too much or it’s too fast, I understand, we can slow down.”

“I am just… Ich bin im siebten Himmel, how you say, ecstatic?” A smile came over his face. “You vanted me. Out of everybody in all ze vorld, I am ze Mann you vant.” Kurt shook his head back and forth in slow, incredulous motions. “I do not know vhat madness has overtaken us or vhezher zhis is a dream, but it is just hard to believe.” He looked around at the Danger Room. “I did not plan zhis, vhen I began training you. Not in a hundred years did I zhink I vould ever kiss you und you kiss me back.”

“No, I didn’t start off that way.” Kennedy confessed, “It took time for me to get to know you and to see the real you.” She ran a hand down the length of his chest in an affectionate manner. “I was so lost when I met you, my heart hurt and I had been left wounded and bleeding. But you saw me, you listened to me, you helped heal me. You helped give me purpose and direction while reminding me that life is beautiful and worth living.” Kennedy wrapped her arms around him before she continued. “I fell in love with you because of your heart and soul, because you are so dashing and charismatic. When I began to heal and I saw the world for what it was, I fell head over heels for you.”

Kurt bit his lip when Kennedy described the pain of the tumultuous time in her life. But when she went on to say that he drew the ache out of her suffering and helped heal her, his face lit up and beamed at her again. He was nothing special. He knew that as sure as he knew anything. Yet here was this absolute specimen of a woman, who was even more beautiful inside than she was on the outside, telling him that he was the one who won her heart.

“You must see zhings in me zhat I do not see in myself,” Kurt said at length, placing his hand over Kennedy’s and pressing it firmly against his chest. The compression let her feel his heartbeat. “But for zhat I am grateful. I regret zhat I made you confused for a time. I vish I could hef seen…” Confusion began to crowd the corners of his mind as he wondered what to do from here. “If you could indulge me a little more, I do not know vhat comes next. I… I barely know vhat I am doing now. Zhis is… so new.”

“I don’t think there’s a list of rules and requirements, it’s not about checking boxes.” Kurt had finally let go of her leg but his tail remained wrapped around her, Kennedy found the idle gesture to be rather sweet as they discussed what came next for them. “Our lives aren’t exactly normal, the path we’re following isn’t one I would consider traditional. Listen to your heart, what is it telling you should come next?”

Lowering his head, whether to pray or simply clear it was uncertain, Kurt took a moment. “Ja, you are right,” he said at length. “Zhere is no tradition for eizher of us, is zhere? I suppose zhat alone may be part of ze adventure I hef alvays longed for.” His smile flattened a little. “I do… hef somezhingk I must finish. I made a promise to find… Vanda.” It had often been a sore subject whenever the name was brought up. Kurt had just assumed Kennedy held no interest in a stranger. But now Wanda was no stranger. She was… an alternative. A rival. Unknown territory was made even more precarious by what Kurt was about to say next. “After speaking vith Alaric, my belief is ve are so close. If ve can investigate Kamar-Taj again, ve may find vhere she vas taken. Ze end of my search is so close I can almost see it.” Kurt braced himself for his big ask. “I dare not ask for your help again, not knowing ze agony and uncertainty I put you zhrough due to my blindness. But I cannot abandon zhis search, not on my honor. Vill you grant me zhis?”

“I wouldn’t stop you from finding her.” Kennedy seemed a little disappointed in his response, when she asked him what he wanted to come next for them it was finding the woman he still had lingering feelings for. His continued desire to find Wanda came from a good place but she couldn’t help but feel threatened by it. If Wanda wanted him back, would he go to her? She wasn’t sure what the answer to that question would be. Past love that didn’t die could very easily tempt him far beyond a newfound fling. Ultimately she wanted Kurt to be happy and if that wasn’t with her, then she would let him go. “You don’t have to ask my permission or seek my approval, I’ll help you simply because you asked me to.”

“Kennedy…” Holding her hand with both of his, he canted his head to one side in thoughtful sincerity. “If zhis is to be, zhen I must insist on somezhingk here and now. Ve must alvays be honest vith each osther. Zhat means more zhan just never telling a lie. It also means not evading or hiding from ze truth.” His brow knit in pleading. “I did zhis myself, denied how I truly felt about you so much zhat I could not see vhat vas right in front of me. I vill not do it again.” He shook his head in emphasis. “And I vill not let you do it eizher. You can tell me anysthingk because I vant to know everysthingk. You are not at peace und I vish you vould say vhy.”

“I’m scared, Kurt.” He watched as a flood of anxiety came over her, it made her clench her fists in distress. “I don’t want to be hurt again, I don’t want another person to break my heart and abandon me. You are one of the most genuine and honest people that I have ever met, I want this… I want us… so badly. But I’m scared that I’m not enough and that when you find Wanda again none of this will matter.” The building tension made Kennedy’s chest feel tight enough that it was getting hard to breathe. “I’m scared because when I asked you what comes next for us, your answer was to find her.”

The look of pleading on Kurt's face was overtaken by a thoughtful one. He nodded faintly while listening to Kennedy's concerns, wheels turning in his mind while he reconciled her fears with his own convictions. In the end, he decided her concerns were not unfounded even if they weren't true.

“Ja, I understand vhat you describe,” Kurt said. “I am sorry to give you zhat feeling. It is not only Vanda I must find, but also myself. My vord, it is my bond.”

How to help her understand? Kurt did not wish to speak ill of anybody, but he was the one insisting on being fully truthful.

“I vill ask you zhis. If your Vader vere to return somehow, ask you to join him in his castle in ze sky, and to vage vhatever mayhem he can imagine…vould you leave me for him?” It was a rhetorical question. Kurt shook his head and answered for her. “Nein. No, I do not believe you vould. Yet zhat is vhat Vanda did. She chose zhat evil man over me.”

This was probably not helping, Kurt told himself. Kennedy had already expressed hurt and rejection at Kurt mentioning Wanda in answer to her question, and here he was bringing her up again.

Leaning his forehead against hers, Kurt continued. “You are ze companion I alvays dreamed of but never zhought vould choose me. I vill not do ze same evil to you zhat vas done to me.” In conclusion, Kurt looked directly into her eyes. “I must reclaim ze part of me zhat I pledged to anosther,” he said, “und I must do eet ze right vay. I must keep my vord. I hope zhat is an assurance you can take to heart, but I understand if eet is not.”

She nodded her head in agreement as she slowly started to understand him. Finding Wanda wasn’t about her, it was about him. Kurt needed closure and an end to that part of his life and needed to complete what he had promised to do. It was more about freeing himself so he could move forward… with her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to doubt you or question who you are.”

Kennedy wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace before resting her head under his chin. She sought comfort in his presence, a concept that wasn’t unfamiliar to them but this newfound physical connection seemed to amplify their preexisting feelings. She closed her eyes and focused on the warmth of his body and the peace he provided.

A brief moment passed and Kurt felt her melt into him as she abandoned her preconceived notions about who he was. He had only ever shown her honesty and sincerity, it was other people who had tainted her expectations. “You’re a good person, Kurt, you are just trying to do the right thing.”

“Ja…” Kurt cradled her head against his shoulder. “Zhis is true. Danke for understandingk. If zhis is to be forever like ve hef said ve vant it to be, zhen it requires a good start. You deserve zhat…” He trailed off a moment before adding, “... und so do I.”

As he spoke, Kurt rubbed his hand against Kennedy’s back in comfort. “Zhat is a vay for us to make good on vhat ve promise today. Ve can clear up any entanglements ve hef vith anybody else so zhat ze future can belong to just us.”

“Oh I stopped talking to Donald when he went back to school. He was nothing more than a distraction. Bobby has moved on, like he always does, I think he’s over whatever fascination I held. Shinobi is harder for me…” Kennedy didn’t like what she needed to say but she wanted to be honest with Kurt, so she braced herself before she continued. “He saved me from drowning when my nose was barely above water, then I shared all of myself with him. Despite the awful things he did, I can’t help but show him compassion. When he sends me things or he visits me, I still see the person I cared for staring back at me.”

Kurt nodded. Despite the evil path he had taken, Shinobi still had a soul that was worth praying for. Kurt was almost ready to move on when something Kennedy had said pricked his mind. “Visits. You said Shinobi visits you? Vhen vas zhis?”

“Christmas.” Kennedy winced as she spoke. “He didn’t come inside. He offered me a gift and we spoke for a few minutes… then things became darker… he struck me and I hit my head, he left me unconscious then burned the barn around me. I don’t believe he had the intention of killing me but he wanted to punish me and to scare me… because I called him by the wrong name.” She shook her head in disapproval of the story, she had made mistakes. “Bobby and Hayden found me and no real harm was done, but I feel like a fool for letting him get that close to me again. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, it was embarrassing.”

“I see.” That was concerning for a number of reasons. “Now zhat I know…” Looking back over the last month, Kurt could understand why she didn’t tell him. The rise and fall of Christmas Eve, the tumultuous New Year’s Eve, the awkward moment when Kennedy helped him charge the key he’d reconstructed from hidden shrines and vaults from all over the world in his search for Wanda, she’d endured all these things under the burden of unrequited love. “...I do not blame you for your secrecy. I did not provide ze safe space zhat I had hoped. Zhat changes now.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, I’ve just held onto some lingering feelings and part of me feels… I don’t know… shame over them. He’s dangerous and I have to remember that.” Kennedy suddenly felt bad, she could have endangered a lot of people thanks to her secrets.

A fire lit in Kurt’s eyes. He remembered the state in which he had found Kennedy at the Hellfire Club Mansion. To say it was indecent was an understatement. Besides the sex kitten attire, she had been brainwashed into forfeiting herself as a slave. And Shinobi had asserted his right to own her, as if Kennedy were nothing more than a commodity he was entitled to simply because he made a claim to her. Him and his filthy lucre were enough to turn Kurt’s stomach. “If zhat… man… comes to see you again, I vant to hef vords vith him as vell. You are not his playzhing und you never vere. Und I vill remind him.”

Kennedy squeezed him tightly despite his firm words. There was something noble about his request, his desire to defend her against wrongdoings. Since her arrival here, Kennedy had spent a lot of time seeking her own joy and finding strength from within but it was still nice to have someone who cared about her, who was willing to advocate for her. She wanted to be loved and in this moment, she felt that.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his skin.

It wasn't meant as a noble gesture, just an honest expression of his desire to set right something that was out of line. But the way Kennedy whispered into his neck told Kurt that a nerve had been struck. Kennedy was the strongest woman he'd ever known with wisdom and resilience beyond her years. To see such vulnerability from her was not a sign of weakness in his eyes, it was an act of trust. She willingly let her guard down because she trusted him to hold her up. That was a sacred trust he would always protect.

“I love you, Kennedy,” he said in her native tongue. The flare up from his earlier big feelings came back, but rather than lose himself in babbling tears of joy, his swelling heart led his coiled, wiry limbs to grasp her even tighter, as if the added compression would be an induction straight from his heart hers. “I love you and I vill never let you go.”

Kennedy had carried this notion that he didn’t love her the same way that she loved him, it had created a reoccurring pang in her heart that she had worked so hard to stifle. Kurt’s words made her heart sing as her whole body felt lighter, like she was finally free of a heavy burden.

“Ich liebe dich.” She struggled with the new words but there was sweet sentiment in trying to learn his native tongue. Kennedy lifted her head and kissed him, a slow and gentle gesture that allowed them to savor the moment. Free from prying eyes and without the urgency of bottled up emotions, they could focus on the slow burn of their passion.

---

Adult Content Warning

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As much as Kurt relished an audience, this was indeed much better in private. He had imagined it was just the two of them on the dance floor. But there was no pretending now. Kurt’s oversized fingers brushed over the top of Kennedy's dress for a gentle touch in contrast to his tight embrace.

“How did you call it?” Kurt whispered in a breath between kisses. “Salacious.” He quietly chuckled before losing himself in her lips once again.

“I think you’re missing the important part of that statement… that I don’t care.” There was the flutter of a laugh in her next kiss as she pressed herself into him. Kennedy was touch starved and as his hands dared to caress her bare skin it reminded her of how badly she wanted him to explore her body, to have him know her in an intimate way. Her kiss deepened and Kurt felt the need that was building inside of her.

“Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.” Her words were breathy and sultry as she whispered against his lips. It was a tone of voice he had never heard from Kennedy before, filled with racey confidence that provoked heated emotions in both of them.

“Tell me you vant me,” Kurt replied. He knew that she did. There was no more denying it, not even in the darkest reaches of his heart where the light of day never shined and the ghosts of rejections past still haunted him. Hearing her say it was like a spring thaw to him, ointment on a burn, kindling on a fire to make it burn hotter. Not that Kurt could burn much hotter. Kennedy’s steamy tone already sent his pulse racing. “Tell me I am your Ein und Alles, zhat ve are forever.” He kissed her again, compelled for more of her lips before he could fully express his desire. “For zhat is how I feel for you.”

“Do you remember when you asked me what brought me joy?” Kurt’s kisses moved down the side of her swan-like neck as she spoke. “No one had ever asked me that, and for a while I had forgotten what those things were.” She gasped when he reached her collarbone and his teeth dared to graze her skin. “I want to share all of those things with you, Kurt, I want to experience all the beautiful parts that life has to offer with you by my side because you also bring me such unfettered happiness. The way you see the world is so beautiful and I don’t ever want to experience life without you in it.” Kurt’s lips moved across her shoulder and and back to her neck, Kennedy whimpered from the sensation of his tongue across her skin. “I love you, Kurt, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

That…that was even more than he asked for. As Kurt lost himself in the creamy neckline that Kennedy offered him, her words made him realize that really he had found himself. All of the searching and wandering he had done the world over found its end here and now in her embrace. The sensual whimpers that cracked her voice while she was speaking said even more than her words did. Kurt opened his heart to her sincerity and took her desperate plea into the core fiber of his being.

“I never dreamed you vould choose me,” Kurt repeated, “but now I cannot picture life wizhout you eisther. All zhat is good in zhis vorld I see in you.”

Kurt hoisted her in the air as he had a hundred times before, but this time there was no fancy maneuver to follow. Instead he pulled Kennedy into a standing straddle, dress and all, with his tail bracing their hips together.

“You vant me?” Kurt whispered, golden eyes penetrating blue. “You hef me.”

One final bamf carried them away from the Danger Room into Kurt's faculty quarters. The room was sparsely furnished, little more than a bed, nightstand, and an armoire, and even more spartan in its decor. When the two of them appeared, they were practically disheveled in appearance, but that didn't matter. It was only going to become more torrid from there.

“How do… you get… zhis off?” Kurt was no stranger to elaborate apparel, but he couldn't pull himself away from Kennedy's lips long enough to give the back of her dress the attention it needed.

“There’s a hook and eye above the zipper.” She chuckled before pulling away for a moment. “I’ll do it.”

Kennedy removed the opera length gloves she was wearing, the white satin peeled away to expose a touch more skin. The act reminded him of a sideshow striptease where the dancing girls provided a titillating performance for the crowd before the circus began. But there was a permanent elegance to Kennedy that made the motions more refined than anything he had seen in the circus. She moved with poise and fluid grace and he saw the ballerina in her.

With deft hands now free, she reached behind her back and with a few simple movements Kennedy undid her gown. The boned and rigid dress was stiff enough to stand on its own but a gap had been created between the corset and her body.

“What about you?” Kennedy asked between kisses but before he could answer her question she tugged at his bow tie and began to unbutton his shirt.

While Kennedy loosened his bow tie and shirt buttons, Kurt slid the outer layers away in a shimmy he hadn’t performed since his circus days. His jacket, cummerbund, and slacks fell to the floor in a pile around his feet. “You vere saying?” Kurt retorted, still reluctant to pull away from her lips for even an instant.

“You did that entirely too quickly.” Kennedy joked before she reached out and caressed him. She ran her hand across the length of his torso and it took all of her self control to not titter and shiver in delight. Kurt was velvet soft and warm to the touch but his unusual skin covered lean, toned muscles. She had thought about what it would be like to touch him and it was just as luxurious as she had hoped it would be. Just the idea of his naked body against her own made her melt.

Kurt began to peel away the corset from Kennedy’s body. Her curves were familiar to his hands, but this time he felt free to take delight in a way that had never occurred to him during the many hours of training. This was not an acrobatic session. This was the two of them coming together as one in the very way they were made to be. Nothing could be more sacred for Kurt than to receive the last pieces of Kennedy’s body and soul given freely to him. He could barely wait to reciprocate.

“Tell me… if zhis is… too fast.” By the sound of Kurt’s tone, he was hoping for the contrary. Layered within his statement was the tacit admission that he had never done this before. It wasn’t exactly casual conversation, but Kennedy had surely drawn her own conclusions. Nature took its course, driving Kurt’s instinct to taste every new patch of Kennedy’s skin as it came free of her confining clothing.

“It’s not too fast.” Kennedy huffed the words as her breathing became labored. She helped him strip away the layers of her clothes, exposing the mysteries that were feminine attire. It wasn’t until the last bits of sheer French lace were discarded that she finally paused.

“But you can also tell me if this is too fast.” A foolish statement to make now that she was stripped naked before him and the unknown details of her body were finally revealed. A constellation of freckles across her stomach, the peachy pink of her nipples, a small scar on her upper thigh, a delicate swath of blonde hair between her legs. Kurt saw all of her.

“Nein…” Kurt shook his head at how incredulous that very thought was to him. “I need you.” Now it was his turn to whimper in wanton desire as his eyes took in her full measure. “I vill die if I do not hef you.” He lowered his head to meet the breasts he scooped together, tasting each in turn. “For you are bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.”

The sweet and savory taste of her nipples on his tongue filled him with more joy than he thought possible. Kurt gasped in shocked delight. He gently pushed her against the bed where she fell back in a voluptuous bounce. Not even waiting to pounce, Kurt bamfed from his standing position into a mounted one, his velvety lips loosing a growl from his increasingly erotic appetite.

“I am yours,” he said, kissing her from lips to navel and back again, “und you are mein.” Both confession and declaration brought his rapid breathing to a fever pitch. Kurt’s sinewy azure shoulders flexed as he propped himself up on his elbows and ran his fingers through Kennedy’s hair. “Meine süße Liebling!”

She smiled at him as he promised himself to her and Kennedy felt that missing part of herself in him. She had wanted to be loved and adored, to be cherished and wanted and she found that in Kurt. Kennedy looked up into his golden eyes and she felt like her heart was going to burst.

“There is a famous French quote…” she murmured against his lips between kisses. “Le plus grand bonheur après que d’aimer, c’est de confesser son amour. It means the greatest thing after loving is confessing one’s love, because expressing love is as fulfilling as feeling it.”

She parted her thighs and as she ran a hand down the length of his side and they both held their breath for what was to come. Kennedy lifted her hips to meet his as she guided him into her. “I love you, Kurt.”

At first Kurt’s heart fluttered at Kennedy’s gentle, guiding touch, especially when her hand passed over the faint scar from the wound he suffered in Genosha. But when their hips met with nothing to separate them, all thoughts of anything else were banished. Kurt’s golden eyes opened wide and his jaw fell agape upon entry.

“Einzige,” he gasped, his voice a hoarse whisper, “sind wir eins…”

For a brief second, Kurt did nothing but lay there and soak in the experience. His mind could scarcely believe how real and wonderful it was. But on his quiet exclamation, declaring in a lover’s whisper that they were finally as one, passion swelled within him, causing him in turn to swell inside Kennedy. Even the gentle motion of their breathing was enough to compel him into action.

“Tell me vhat is good,” Kurt said with a hitch in his voice. His slow and cautious movements drew his breath away, but his lean, conditioned thighs were already primed for more. “Slow is good, or… faster?”

“Just listen to my body, it will tell you,” Kennedy whispered close to his lips as her breath warmed his skin. The language of her body wasn’t foreign to him, their time spent training together had taught him how to anticipate her wants and needs. Their union was a thrill and an almost overwhelming sensation, but as their bodies began to move together and they grew accustomed to one another, Kurt began to understand what she was talking about.

Feeling each other’s center of balance was fundamental and familiar. What allowed them to sail through the air together now merged them together as a single mechanism. Kurt let go of his questioning and trusted the feel and flow to guide them just as it always had.

Kennedy’s breath caught in her throat at first but as they became more fluid in their motions her breathing became easy and unified with his own. He found the perfect synchronization with her and just like their feet on the dance floor they became singular in their rhythm. He held that pace for an unknown amount of time as they relished the pleasure they could provide for each other.

But that easy cadance wasn’t meant to last forever thanks to the passion that burned between them. Tension started to build and Kennedy’s breath quickened in response to her growing need for more.

Just when Kurt didn’t think Kennedy could get any tighter, she seized hold of him with an iron grip. A moan curdled from somewhere in his throat as pleasure piqued into ecstasy. How could anything be this singularly satisfying? Kurt quieted his mind and stared deeply into Kennedy’s eyes, letting those blue sapphires pierce him with their adoring expression.

“Ja…” Kurt gasped as a tingling fire ignited in his pelvis, creating an indomitable tension throughout his entire abdomen. “Oh, bitte, Kennedy, ja.” Another gasp, another moan, and Kurt found himself losing rhythm as a surge of overwhelming euphoria came over him, riding on the wave of an explosive release that he could not have anticipated. “Kenn… Kenn… bitte… JA!”

Kurt buried his face against her neck and shouted through his first climax. But once the wave had passed, his body went into overdrive, unable to hold back once the dam had burst. Kurt flexed every surface of his body and gripped Kennedy as tightly as she held him before rolling his hips again and again in a string of tireless piston-firing thrusts, completely unmoored by the staggering weight of the passionate friction between them.

Her body sang for him as she tensed and shuttered from their efforts and with an almost regal grace, Kennedy slipped and glided into her own wave of pleasure. She sweetly moaned and gasped as Kurt watched her touch the divine. In her moment of pleasure, he saw what his love did to her. Kennedy was flawless, gorgeous, and most importantly she was his. She held onto him and softly mewled as his frenzied thrusts eventually slowed and they were both left awestruck and inspired by what they could do for each other.

Kurt was momentarily exhausted from the exertion but he didn’t ease up his hold because he couldn’t stop trembling. He laid with Kennedy, snug and spent and profoundly happy. It had been like waking up from a long, cold dream and being greeted by warm sunlight. Minute passed into minute before Kurt said anything.

“Vill it alvays be like zhat?” Kurt chuckled at the silliness of the question. As if there could be any doubt to paradise. “I do not know if I can let you out of my sight now. Ze zhought of being apart, even for ein hour, eet pains me.” He gave her a nuzzle and banished the unwelcome thought of distance.

“Now you know why men have destroyed and rebuilt the world all in the name of love.” Kennedy chuckled before kissing his temple. Her hand traveled up and down his side and then across the length of his back in an almost covetous manner. “I love the feeling of your body,” she confessed in a hushed tone that Kurt would soon identify as her bedroom voice. Lust and satisfaction mingled with her feelings of love for him, it made her euphoric and more inclined to provide pillow talk. “I can’t get enough of you.”

That was such a sore subject for Kurt. If there was ever a reason for him to despise himself, it was his appearance. For Kennedy to say that, especially after what they had just done together, meant more to Kurt than he could ever say.

“Ze feeling is mutual,” he said. “Seeing you zhis vay, knowing you for all zhat you are, is like a fairy tale come to life.” While his instinct was to hold back his deeper thoughts, Kurt found it impossible to be bashful here and now. “Und so is being seen by you… in ze vay zhat you see me.” Kurt closed his eyes and enjoyed the smell of her hair mixed with the erotic scent of intimacy. “I do not know if I vill ever get used to zhat… but I vould like to.”

“Those things take time,” Kennedy said with a content sigh before she shifted and sat up so she could see him better. “I think a lot of us struggle with some degree of self-loathing about our mutation. The onset and degree varies but I’m sure most feel it.”

She moved over him, straddling his waist so she could gaze down at him. The change in position placed their bodies on display for each other, not heated glimpses as they writhed in the throes of passion but something casual and exploratory, a chance to become familiar with one another.

“I hated myself for what I was, I cursed myself for not being able to hide it for a few more years. My mutation changed everything, it ruined my life.” Kennedy ran her hands across his chest, she found comfort in touching him. “But being here, surrounded by people who understood, it made a big difference. People loving you and accepting you for who you are, it can be life changing.”

Kurt quaked in his chest beneath Kennedy's loving caresses. It was such a bittersweet feeling, both jarring and healing, like cleansing a wound.

“Ja, I am beginning to see zhat,” Kurt said. “You might say I vas made to hide in ze shadows. I zhought I had to put on a spectacle just to be seen. Our mutations brought us togesther, und for zhat I give zhanks.” Resting his hands on the sprawl of her hips, Kurt let his gaze drift upward across her divine form to meet her eye to eye. “You hef seen me, Kennedy, even vhen I tried to hide. Your gift is not to destroy zhings but to find zhem out. I am grateful your mutation manifested vhen it did. It helped you find me, even as I hid in plain sight as I do.” A surge of excited affection rolled through Kurt and brought back his ever present smirk. “Und you lit me up just now, perhaps only as you could do.” Kurt's hands moved down her arms so their palms could meet. “Every minute vith you has been so healing.”

“You were exactly who I needed when I needed you the most. I felt so discarded and unwanted, you proved me wrong.” She held his hands in her own as they spoke. Kurt and Kennedy were saying the same things to one another, they were healed by the other’s love.

Still holding his hands, Kennedy directed them to a position above his head as her body brushed against his. The sensation made her shiver slightly as she leaned into him and allowed Kurt to feel the weight of her body against his own.

“You can call it fate, or divine intervention, or dumb luck but I am still lucky to have you.” Her lips found his and she pressed a slow heated kiss upon him.

“Hmm… maybe all drei togeth—?” Kurt purred as his words slurred into a gleeful hum as their lips met again. However anybody wanted to describe it was irrelevant. They were meant to be. That was as plain as the passion that blazed between them. Not a casual or common thing that could be dismissed quietly. Kurt knew as surely as he knew everything that this was the start of forever.

Instead of talking, as he was prone to do early and often, Kurt swallowed his words and marinated in the fiery, lingering kiss that Kennedy pressed upon him. Soon the need for saying anything at all passed. The familiar sense of physical expression through action took over. A tug of the lip, a flick of the tongue, a brushing pass of the hand all said more than any sonnet could. Kurt the performer took over, but this was an audience of two where Kurt mirrored Kennedy gesture for gesture, taking her lead while showing initiative of his own as a fast learner.

Soon the kiss and cuddle shifted into a higher intensity. Rather than the explosive display that led to them ripping their clothes off, this was a slower burn that felt all the hotter for the delayed reaction. Caught in the churn, exchanging each other’s breath, feeling one another’s heart beat through their sternums, it felt just as magical as the accelerated passion from before.

Kurt had never felt so close to anyone before. It felt like their hearts were as connected as their flesh. His eyes grew wide when he felt his arousal spike against the pressure of Kennedy’s body.

“Again?” he gasped, surprised at himself. “So soon.” Not that it was a bad thing. This was entirely new territory for him. Even so, he couldn’t help but laugh at not knowing his own body. “It seems you bring me to life again und again.”

“Now I’m curious to know what you thought was going to happen.” She laughed at his surprise and uncertainty as Kennedy kissed him again. She began to roll and grind her hips into his using slow and tepid movements that matched the easy pace that had reawakened him.

“Ah! I vas not certain what to expect,” Kurt admitted with a gasp of delight. “Tonight or even tomorrow?” With every roll of her hips, Kurt felt himself slide ever deeper inside Kennedy. It was a different sensation from this position, which made it feel like the first time all over again. Following his instinct, Kurt cupped Kennedy's breasts and braced her motion as she started grinding harder. “But I hef no—ugh!—complaints…”

Kennedy smirked from his comments and Kurt’s slow loss of composure. She found a wicked little thrill in watching him fall apart from every roll of her hips. Even in the height of pleasure he remained jubilant, it was a joy that was infectious as it tinted everything with a rosy hue.

She sat up straight and the weight of her body drove him deeper into her. A plunge that was still so unexpectedly invigorating that it spurred both of them to stop their playful banter and focus on finding their release. Tension filled the bedroom as instincts took over and told them what to do.

Her hips began to move in smooth, fluid undulations, her dancer’s grace and her attunement with her body were on full display with each lascivious stroke. She was flawless and beguiling and he saw that same freedom of expression in her motions as when she performed. The lithe lines of her body accentuated each movement and Kurt knew he would never again be able to watch her dance without thinking of this.

Kennedy found a pace that made her moan and writhe on top of him and her skin heated and flushed as the early ripples of pleasure took hold of her. There was a sense of surrender in that moment, Kurt felt it inside of her as he watched her shoulders drop and her head rolled back, her whole body responding to the rhythm of their lovemaking.

At first Kurt had been almost worshipful in the way his hands held Kennedy’s luscious body, but before long her writhing moans drew him into a more forceful reception of her amorous ride. His ankles slid up so he could bend his knees and add measured, rhythmic bucking to each glide while his hands gripped her thighs just below the hips. The resulting synchronization between them was a sublime pleasure that left them moaning each other’s names.

Kennedy had gone into this at least knowing what to expect but all of her preconceptions were washed away by this newfound pleasure that took hold of her. Her whole body ratcheted and tightened in a single breath and she remained locked and held in that euphoric space. Her thoughts left her as she gasped and helplessly trembled, her eyes rolled back into her head as her body stilled and for a brief time she even forgot to breathe. Kennedy had never experienced anything like this before. The sensation was sublime.

Kurt was totally enraptured in body and soul. Every aspect from the overwhelming physical sensation of pleasure to the unity of intimacy burned away the man he had been and revealed the new one, maybe who he had always meant to be. Kurt was a lover and now he had someone to love. And she loved him in return. That sense of completion opened his heart and amplified the ecstasy he was already feeling.

To call it a little death only made sense in the way it felt like his soul left his body, but Kurt had never felt more alive. He felt the final bulge before the surging release, and if that was a little death, then what followed could only be called a resurrection. Kurt pulled his eyelids shut against his wide open mouth while a depth to his being he had never known before cried out in awakened satisfaction of a gnawing hunger that had always been there—until now.

When his golden eyes fluttered open, Kurt pulled Kennedy down into a smoldering kiss. Every touch resonated in gratitude for the echoes of their passion that would linger long past the time they would leave the bedroom. Kurt felt linked to Kennedy, attached at the hip both literally and figuratively, and he never wanted it to be any other way.

Panting and awestruck, Kennedy tumbled into him as her breath returned to her in mewling gasps that sounded like a song to Kurt. Her red lipstick had been kissed away and the gentle waves of her hair had been lost to the heated tousle in bed. But there was a radiance to her that wasn’t there before, he saw it in her eyes and in the smile that curled the corners of her mouth.

She rested across his chest and the weight of her body pressed into his creating a different type of comfort and peace as the basked in the afterglow of their coupling.

“I’ve never… that was…” Kennedy couldn’t really describe it. She thought she knew what to expect from her arousal and climax but apparently she had been wrong. Her whole body had reacted and now she felt spent and exhausted in the best way possible. “Just, wow.”

“Ja… I know vhat you mean.” Kurt rested his arms around her shoulders, finally letting his hold on her loosen. “Never in my life did I expect zhis vas vaiting for us.” He ran his thick fingers up and down her spine. “Danke for vaiting for me. For so long, I vas not ready to see und looking back I see how difficult I made it for you. I vill spend everyday making zhat up to you, und zhen after zhat, I vill overfill you so zhat you never hef to vonder ever again.” He kissed the top of her head. “Because I love you.”

“I love you, Kurt.” Kennedy nuzzled in his neck as she sighed in contentment. His hold on her banished that painful ache that so often appeared when she felt alone. He had seen that silent request from her time and time again, when Kennedy was distressed she would hug herself because that was the only person who would. Now she had someone who would hold her and comfort her, remind her that her challenges didn’t have to be faced alone.

“You don’t have to apologize, we all need to process things in our own time. Besides, you were worth the wait.” She snuggled into his velvet touch as Kennedy reached out and caressed him. “So don’t ever let go, okay?”

“Niemals,” Kurt promised. “I vill hold your heart and touch your Gesäß alvays because you are my Liebling forever.” He laughed at his sweet and sassy profession because it was as sincere as it was crass.

His joke was lost on her thanks to her lack of knowledge surrounding the German language but when his hands cupped and squeezed the curve of her backside Kurt’s quip suddenly made sense. “Oh!” Kennedy jumped and then laughed from his greedy hold on her. “I get it now.”

Never had he been compelled to make such a joke, yet there was truth in every word, making it more of a pledge rather than a wisecrack. “Sorry, I do not know vhat came over me. I vould say I vas only joking but zhat vould be a lie.”

“We can’t have you lying, can we?” Kennedy teased as she rolled her hips into him, he felt her taut muscles shift under his hands as he kneaded and squeezed her supple flesh. She sat up slightly and kissed him in an open invitation for his playful antics to continue. “Are there any other parts you want to touch?”

There was nothing quite like an open invitation. Kurt blinked for a moment in a happy reminder that it would be extended forever. No longer was there a line of propriety between them. Love was now the only guiding force between their interactions. It was such a beautifully liberating feeling that Kurt couldn’t help but take her up on her offer.

“In fact…” Kurt palmed her abdomen and traced a slow circle around her navel with his thumb. “Zhere is…” Without warning, Kurt slid his fingers up her sides and tickled under her arms. But the playful antic backfired at the jostling, jiggling side effects of Kennedy’s bouncy squirms. “Oh my…” Kurt gasped in delight, the kind that only a beautiful woman in motion could give a man. “You undo me at every turn, meine Liebling.” He gave a cavalier smirk at the clear disadvantage she held over him. “I am helpless before you.”

Kennedy burst into laughter as he tickled her and that snort of laughter appeared once more. She seemed mildly embarrassed by the sound but was too giddy to really prevent it. It was only when Kurt stopped was she finally capable of composing herself.

“That’s not fair.” Her body relaxed as she stilled and that press of her curves returned to his side. “I wasn’t expecting you to do that.”

“Zhen I see our veaknesses cancel out.” Kurt’s smirk turned to a winsome grin. “I like your laugh, vhen you schnauben. I hef not heard it before today, und zhat makes it feel special, like eet is only for me.” His golden eyes narrowed with mischievous intent. “Maybe ve see if zhere is more schnaubend to be found?”

“No don’t, I hate it.” She covered her face in embarrassment yet she continued to smile. “It’s so terrible and my brother would tease me about it. It only happens when I laugh really hard.” Kennedy lowered her hands as she realized that it was an unknown trait up until now. “I guess I didn’t really have a lot to laugh about these past few months.”

There was an obvious difference in her demeanor from when Kurt had first met her. Sadness had once lingered around her no matter the situation, it dulled her eyes with shadow. But over time he saw the light come back to her until she was the vivacious, bright woman who held onto him. Her return to life was in a huge part thanks to him.

“But that changes from now on…” Kennedy propped herself up on her elbow and she looked down at Kurt. “I want to see the world with you. I want to go to all those mysterious wonders you found the key at, I want to see the monastery you grew up in, and I want to see all the places you traveled with the circus. When that’s done, I want to go places where mutants need assistance and we can help them, together.”

“Zhat sounds wunderbar,” Kurt agreed, missional zeal now stirring in his chest. “Ze world is tvice as beautiful vhen seeing it vith somevone else.” With Kennedy propped on her elbow, Kurt ran his hand up and down her side, swirling his palm on her naked hip with each pass. “Und finding osther mutants in need of rescue from peril? You are a modern day Joan of Arc. I love it. Who knows? Perhaps you vill inspire an army like she did.”

“I’m not looking for sainthood,” Kennedy balked at the idea. “I was raised in a home that openly hated mutants, then I became one. When I came here I heard all the terrible stories about how mutants were treated, then I witnessed it first hand. It changed me, called me to action. I just want to help people find the right path. There are parts of this world that don’t have benevolent schools or kindhearted monasteries that will take them in… someone has to find them. Why not us?”

Kurt grinned at her humble nobility. “You do not hef to convince me, Liebling. Ve vill do zhat as ve vill do all zhings: togesther.” He couldn’t hold back a smirk though. “However, you should know zhat saints are traditionally canonized posthumously, so you vill not hef a say in ze matter.” This talk of a grand mission dovetailed Kurt’s previous mentions of wanting a life of adventure. Saving the world by day, making love by night, and all with Kennedy at his side, it sounded… perfect. “Ve vill just do vhat is in our hearts to do. Zhat is a gift in itself.” His fingers kept stroking her body in loving caresses, giving his words a double entendre. “Not heffing to hold back or be restrained. Freedom to do as ve feel ve must should never be squandered.”

“That all sounds very bohemian and wonderful,” Kennedy said with a dreamy sigh as she reached out and draped an arm across him. Since her arrival at Xavier’s her life had been about ‘plans’ and what she lost and then should and could not do, all of it felt overwhelming and wrong so she avoided the talk whenever possible. But this conversation with Kurt felt different, she liked the idea of planning with him. “So where should we go first?”

“Bohemia to start?” Kurt grinned so wide at his joke that his tongue poked through his teeth. “If you really vant to see my old monastery, I could take you zhere, but ze public area is not very exciting. You might enjoy ze village more. Winzeldorf is a little rustic but it has charm.”

“It doesn’t have to be exciting and sophisticated.” Kennedy corrected his downplay of the location. She often experienced that bias, that everything needed to be chic and expensive in order for her to enjoy or appreciate something. “I want to see where you were raised because it’s a part of you and important to you. That’s all it needs to offer.”

Kurt shrugged at her description of it. “Ja, it has a special place in mein heart, but zhen again I ran avay ze first chance I had!” He chuckled at his own melodramatic past. “I vould love to take you. It just vill not take long to show you ze sights. But ve can stay for as long you vish.” His dreamy smile returned. “As long as ve never hef to be apart, zhen I vill go to ze ends of ze Earth for you.” His smile faltered ever so much as he considered the reverse. “I hef never been to Boston eizher. Is zhere anysthingk you vould like to show me from zhere?” It was a charged question, as Kurt knew Kennedy was forced to turn over a new leaf in pretty much the worst way possible. Still, he adored her and was fascinated by everything that made her the person she was.

“In Boston?” She thought about it for a moment, Kennedy didn’t seem nearly as excited about traveling there as she did to Germany. “The city itself is beautiful and interesting, there is a lot of American history there but for me… I don’t know if seeing the outside of my family home would be all that interesting. It’s gated and set back from the street, it’s very old and it takes up an entire city block.”

Despite her own downplay of the city the house she described sounded grand. Kennedy definitely came from a world of have rather than have not.

“I would rather go to Nantucket over Boston proper.” Kennedy offered him some sort of compromise for what he was asking to see. “It’s an island off the coast of Massachusetts, we have a summer home there. It was always my favorite place to go, long walks amongst the dunes on the beach, naps in hammocks while reading a book, seafood boils over a campfire. It was a very relaxing place to summer.”

“Zhat sounds very good,” Kurt said. He would much rather visit a place Kennedy enjoyed as opposed to anywhere which haunted her. “Und who is to say ve vould not find mutants in need of help even in Nantucket?” He always looked for the silver lining in any situation. If there was a way to redeem the sorrow of Kennedy’s loss of her former life, refocusing it through the lens of their new dream seemed like the ticket.

“I can zhink of anosther place zhat vould be good for summer.” Kurt couldn’t help but grin in excitement at his suggestion. “The Quais de la Seine in Paris could take days to enjoy, vhat vith ze Eiffel Tower und Notre-Dame und ze Louvre. Zhere are affordable houseboats vhere ve could stay right on ze river until ve hef had our fill.” A faraway look came over his face. It wasn’t even his dream and Kurt was already lost in the possibilities.

“Paris.” Kennedy cooed and swooned over the word. Her time in the City of Lights had become symbolic to some degree, much like the love that she so desperately wanted, traveling to Paris continued to elude her. “Do you think we could go? Take a proper vacation and spend some time there?”

She flopped onto her back as she began to daydream about spending time in France with Kurt. Beyond the sightseeing she adored the idea of spending quiet time with him. “It sounds positively wonderful. It would be a dream come true.”

“Zhen eet is settled,” Kurt said. “Winzeldorf und Nantucket und Paris. But not necessarily in zhat order, ja?” With Kennedy flat on her back, she was wide open for another tickle. He poked her just beneath the rib. “Now to seal ze deal vith anosther schnaubend!”

“Stop! No!” She mockingly protested as she laughed once more. “I don’t approve of my terrible snort being the binding agreement to our deals.” Kennedy squirmed and writhed as Kurt continued to relentlessly tickle her until her breaths became gasping hiccups for air. She couldn’t hold out forever and when his hands found a spot on the length of her side that was particularly ticklish Kennedy finally snorted.

“You got your schnaubend!” She laughed and playfully pushed him away while at the same time still squirming against him. “I surrender!”

“Das is good.” Kurt rewarded her by pulling her into his arms for a soft kiss. “I suspect I vill be surrendering early and often in ze days to come, so I zhink it behooves me to establish victories now.” Teasing aside, Kurt’s sincerity came bubbling back to the surface. “Because I vant to give you everysthingk you desire.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he added, “Even if vant ze schnauben from me as vell.” His voice descended into hissing giggles as he kissed along her neck in affection nibbles.

“I suppose I’ll have to compromise from time to time.” Kennedy joked as she turned her head and exposed more of her long neck to him. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed his soft kisses, Kurt’s touch was divine in its ability to both comfort and excite her. “It’s only fair if I’m going to bring you to your knees on a regular basis.” She cradled his head in her hands as he continued to travel across her delicate skin. “How am I ever going to keep my focus in the Danger Room?”

“I am sure you vill zhink of somesthingk,” Kurt murmured. His mind was far from training in the Danger Room. It was hard for him to think much beyond the next swath of skin before him. Enjoying the sight of Kennedy's dancers form was so different from tasting her in his arms. It was like a whole new world had been opened to them, full of discovery and paradisiacal delights. The longer they laid together, the more possibilities sprang up. “Vhat is zhis about bringing me to my knees?” Kurt held his lips against her neck for a prolonged minute before saying, “Say more about zhat.”

Kennedy chuckled at his request, she enjoyed Kurt’s playful side. She had a tendency to be rather serious but with the right outlook or persuasion she could find her own sense of humor. The same could be said for his optimism, it was an addictive mindset and Kennedy often found herself wanting more.

“Well… there are a lot more things to try.” She couldn’t keep a straight face while openly discussing such subject matter, a coy smirk and a lilt of laughter mixed with her words. “I mean, there are things I want to try that I’m hoping are just as good as what we’ve already done.” She squirmed and chuckled at the sudden bashful reaction she had to talking so candidly about sex and the racey thoughts she had had. Kurt occasionally made her nervous or shy simply because she wanted to impress him. “Haven’t you thought about stuff like that? Fantasized about what you would do?”

“Ja, but I hef alvays ignored it because… it just felt so out of reach.” Kurt couldn't help returning Kennedy's bashful grin, though there was no denying his growing excitement. This didn't feel dirty. It felt like a celebration. “Is zhere…” He trailed off but a moment before he summoned the courage to hazard the question. They were already too far past the point of holding back from one another. “...is zhere a particular fantasy you vere zhinking of just now?”

“No!” Kennedy covered her face as she began to giggle and he knew that response was untrue. When she finally parted her fingers he saw her cheeks were a bright red which continued to confirm that she absolutely had been thinking about something.

Despite her flustered avoidance Kurt was still patiently waiting for her reply, that dashing smile on his face that made it hard to deny him anything. “Sometimes when we’re stretching and warming up or you're helping me bend or move in a challenging way… I think about what if we did something else.”

Kurt canted his head in curiosity. “Such as?” he asked as his grin turned sly.

Kurt had always been incredibly professional and respectful during their time together in the Danger Room. He had never done anything that would have been considered inappropriate. But in hindsight he could see how her idle thoughts could wander, especially for someone who had been harboring romantic feelings.

“I would sometimes think about how those positions could turn into other positions.” Her flippant laughter had stopped now that she had finally confessed to him. “Your hands across my body as I bent and arched, on the small of my back or my thigh, when you leaned in close enough that I could almost kiss you.”

Her wish was his command. Kurt leaned in and gave her the kiss she had been describing. One hand splayed against her thigh while the other came to rest against the small of her back.

“Go on,” he coaxed with a mischievous tone. “You mentioned an arch, und zhen it turning into…somesthingk else?” As much as he was thrilled by such intimacy with Kennedy, there was an added thrill of seeing her naked vulnerability and the way he made her unravel. This poised princess who was always so composed lost her bearings whenever she admitted her true feelings for him. That alone was surreal, yet it filled Kurt with such joy that he couldn't stop poking. “Vhat might zhat be?”

That grace that was second nature to Kennedy returned as her body began to move in that easy, fluid manner. She placed her hands above her head as her hips shifted and lifted. Kurt’s hand on the small of her back helped support her as her body became arched and bridged.

The curve of her hips and the dip of her navel raised towards him as the lithe lines of her figure stretched and shifted before him. A nubile offering of herself to him, a request to touch and caress her.

As revealing as a leotard could be, this presented a whole new world for Kurt. His brow slowly climbed up his forehead and assailed his hairline in astonishment and glee.

“I see vhat you mean,” he said faintly. His heart began to race at the pose Kennedy had struck, particularly in light of the context in which she had taken to it. Now he was the one at her mercy. How had she said it? Bringing him to his knees.

“I… vant to…”

Rather than finish his sentence, Kurt simply acted. He indeed took to his knees and exercised the hypermobility that had served him so well as an acrobat. He slid between Kennedy's legs which were stretched taut in her backbend and positioned his face right in front of her sex in a near contortionist flex.

“Is zhis vhat you had imagined?” Kurt asked before leaning in for a timid kiss. “It is in my mind as vell.”

Settling into place, Kurt set his hands beneath Kennedy's back to brace her stance. It would have been a challenging pose for some, but for experts of their caliber, it was barely a warmup. And so, feeling more confident in his instinct to dive into a new frontier, Kurt committed himself to making her every fantasy come true.

Kennedy gasped in both shock and delight as Kurt buried himself between her thighs. His mouth was soft and warm and each kiss and flick of his tongue delivered a ripple of pleasure that could only be described as electric. It made her whole body buzz and ignite with an instant rush of lust and need.

“Oh my god,” she whimpered the words as her core tightened and her thighs tensed from the bloom of pleasure that overcame her.

Bullseye. Kurt heeded each quiver and flex of her body like he would the parts of an orchestra, for that’s how it seemed to him. The symphony of her body was as music to his ears. The slightly intimidating experience soon elevated into a transcendent space where he was meeting a need that only he could fill because he was the one who had provoked it. In time, his slow and gentle delivery heightened into faster and more firm motions, but they were no less attentive for it. He merely followed the subtle signals that her body gave him, just like when working together for the past several months. The changes that shifted within Kennedy’s feminine flower were one small surprise after another, filling Kurt with a sense of anticipation for whatever else he might discover next about the woman he had claimed for his own.

Feeling that a climax was building, Kurt set himself squarely on his back and guided Kennedy to a resting straddle where she could be free to let go once the feeling overtook her. His own arousal piqued as he felt the worrying anticipation build up throughout Kennedy’s body, small tremors that played against each other like foreshocks heralding an earthquake.

He held onto her and guided her, just as Kurt always had. With a firm but gentle touch he moved her into a position that allowed her to thrive. He steadied and supported Kennedy as she let go and found herself.

Kennedy’s body simultaneously relaxed and grew ridgid as a different type of pleasure moved through her. Kurt felt the weight of her body crush and press against him as she began to moan and tremble. In an act of trust she leaned back into his arms as her climax took hold of her. Kennedy came undone in that moment as she succumbed to the blissful high he had provided.

It had been a totally different experience than before, and Kurt loved every minute. As he received Kennedy into his arms, he absorbed the wracking and writhing of ecstasy he had given her with gladness in his heart. Nothing had ever felt so good and right than bringing the woman he loved to such an unbridled and joyous frenzy.

“Zhat vas a good fantasy,” Kurt whispered in her ear while Kennedy regained her bearings. He ran his hands up and down her midsection, enjoying the lingering tremors. “Bitte tell me if you hef any osthers. Finding new vays to love you is exciting.”

“With pleasure.” Kennedy sighed as she looked up at him with a dreamy expression. She reached out and caressed the length of his forearm as she reveled in his presence. An easy sort of intimacy filled the space between them, one that wasn’t repressed or torrid but the start of familiarity. They were learning about each other and finding comfort in those revelations.

“But turnabout is fair play.” Kennedy said with a smirk, “You have to tell me yours.”

Kurt blushed at the question and its tacit invitation to explore each other in any way desirable.

“I vill not visthold anysthingk from you, but in truth you hef already tapped into my vildest dreams und made zhem real.” Kurt began to swoon over the events of the evening. “Ve danced like I hef never before. You are a force of nature on ze dancefloor und you brought me into zhat. You came into my bed because you came into my heart first und made me feel zhings I never knew I could. I might need some time to catch up vith…” He paused as he realized the truth of the matter. “...vith our new life.”

As he spoke, though, he did have an old memory from long ago float up to the surface of his mind. “Zhere is somesthingk zhat I hef not considered for years. I used to imagine…”

Kurt trailed off as he ran his fingers across Kennedy's wrist, wondering what she would make of it. If he said something weird, there was no taking it back. In for a penny, though, in for a pound.

“I used to imagine zhat I vould find someone und ve vould vear our names in each osther's wrists.” He slid his fingers between Kennedy's, the odd number creating an inverse sort of symmetry that fit like a glove despite the disparity of their shape. “So zhat vhenever ve touched, whesther to dance or valk hand in hand or… do vhat ve just did… our names could touch just like our hearts.” Kurt let out a sniff. “It is silly, I know. It vas just somesthingk I had forgotten until now.”

“It’s not silly.” Kennedy smiled from his fantasy and how it was surrounded by such wholehearted love and devotion, she felt a little guilty that her ideas were so lustful. “You just wanted to find your person. Someone who loved you and placed you above all others.”

She pulled him into an embrace, letting Kurt feel the warmth of her body against his own. “I want to be that for you. Give me time to prove to you that I am, but when the time comes I’ll write your name in my skin.”

Kurt luxuriated in Kennedy's embrace. Everything about it from the milky softness of her skin to the warmth of her flesh to the smell of her body pulled him into a serene state of security and contentment. It took a moment for him to register the fact she had promised to do the thing he had mentioned.

“Ja, truly?” He looked surprised and delighted all at once. It was an adolescent fancy but now with Kennedy anything seemed possible. “I already believe you are zhat person, but I vill treasure every proof zhat you give me.” He let out a giddy laugh as he kissed her forehead. “Admittedly it still feels so surreal for us to be here like zhis. I should pinch myself vhen you leave to make sure I am not dreaming.”

That broached more immediate topics like sleeping arrangements. Would Kennedy ever leave? What would their coupling mean for the status quo? Whatever it may mean, Kurt met those questions with the same smile he greeted every adventure.

“We already see each other everyday.” Kennedy replied, “No one else would drink coffee and read the paper with me before the sunrise.” Her comment didn’t seem to answer Kurt’s unasked questions and it took her a second to realize what he was actually saying. “You want me to sleep here?”

Kurt shrugged, smiling at the plausible deniability of never having asked for it, yet appreciating how Kennedy still realized what he really wanted deep down.

Kennedy looked around the bedroom, examining it for the first time. It was bigger than her double occupancy bedroom with a small sitting area and its own bathroom. She just about died at the sight of the private bathroom, showers were practically a competitive sport. But Kurt had practically nothing in the space, it felt more like a hotel room than someone’s living quarters.

“I don’t know if I can,” Kennedy seemed upset by that comment. “Part of the reason why Xavier hired me was to be present in the girls dormitory. If they need something before bed or after lights out, they come to me. Maybe on the weekends?”

“Zhat sounds nice,” he said coyly. “I understand if you cannot stay all ze time. But I do hef more room zhan I need. You can use vhatever you vant or leave anysthingk for safekeeping.” Kurt drew little circles around Kennedy’s skin as he spoke. “I… I just feel so attached to you. It makes me vant you around alvays, but I know zhat is not possible.”

“We’ll have to go on missions and I’m sure you’ll be asked to help X-Factor from time to time.” Kurt’s abilities were in much higher demand than her own, he was a huge asset to a team and she had already seen him requested and utilized far more than her. But his devotion to her made Kennedy smile, like a dam had been broken and this flood of love now surrounded them. “But you do bring up a good point… do we just tell everyone? Is it something that has to be mentioned in a briefing?”

She chuckled a little as she considered all the people who might have an opinion. “I think the Professor will be fine. Connor… Connor might have some unfiltered questions.”

“Zhen perhaps ve tell Connor he has a limit on ze questions und must choose ze top two most pressing.” Kurt and Connor got along well enough that he wasn’t too concerned by the young man’s curiosity. “Und give him answers zhat make him zhink twice before asking more.”

As for Professor Xavier, that was a bit more complicated. “I do not zhink Herr Professor will present any objections,” Kurt said after a bit of thought. “Stipulations, ja, but no objections. Do you zhink any of ze osthers vill intrude? I… recall ze vay Bobby has looked at you.”

“Bobby moves on quickly. He’s already palling around with another girl. I’m sure he finds me attractive but I’m not really his type, at least personally wise.” Kennedy shrugged off Bobby, he was no threat to Kurt. She could actually talk to Kurt nor did Kurt roll his eyes at just the very idea of a trip to a museum. “But there isn’t anyone else, at least not anyone who matters.” Kennedy hesitated for a moment, she wanted to be open and honest with Kurt. “Things are complicated with Shinobi, I am not in love with him and he has said the same to me. But there is a tension between us… it’s like a ghost. This untouchable, phantom thing that means nothing but won’t stop gnawing at either of us. It makes things unpredictable.”

“Shinobi is a coward who vill die a zhousand deaths,” Kurt said with a steely stare. “I vas more concerned vith ze dynamics of ze team and ze school, not vith living shadows who slink about because zhey vill not show zhemselves in ze light of day.”

“I know. I just didn’t want you to be surprised by it. I don’t want to hide anything from you,” Kennedy sheepishly replied, the closest thing to anger Kurt expressed appeared when Shinobi was mentioned which was part of why she wanted him to know; she didn’t want to hurt him.

Despite his zeal, Kurt still appeared uncomfortable at Shinobi's mention. He relented and returned to his intended meaning. “I do not know zhat a mission briefing is ze time or place to announce ourselves to everyone else. Should ve plan somesthingk special or do you vant to keep ze announcement casual?”

“I don’t know, I think just not hiding it is best. They’ll put the pieces together on their own. If anything, the Professor could tell us what’s appropriate. It’s happened before…” She looked down at the ground, reminding them of the wedding that was occurring on the floor below them. Scott and Jean had done something similar, so this wasn’t uncharted waters. “But I want to be together; however we can make it work, I’m all in.”

Kurt’s eyes turned kind once more, the warrior giving way to the poet once more. “On zhat ve are agreed. Vhatever it takes for us to be togesther, I am ready as vell.” He caught her glance back to the festivities below. “Do you zhink ve are being rude? I am not sorry,” he said with a chucke, “but I do vonder…”

“I don’t think they care. Our presence is not what matters, at least not to Scott and Jean.” Kennedy stretched out in his bed, wrinkling the sheets as she luxuriated in them. She playfully writhed a little just to accentuate her opinion. “This is much better.”

“Ja, no doubt zhey only hef eyes for each osther.” Kurt grinned at her sensual display and rolled over atop of her. Looking down with joy in his eyes, he said, “As soon as I valked into ze dining hall, I saw nobody else but you. Zhen I saw… how did you call zhat Japanese man? Shiro? Vhen he led you to ze dancefloor, I almost left, but… I could not.” The bold interruption he had initiated from there felt so out of character for him, yet also so right and so true as well. “Somesthingk came over me zhen. Jealousy, if I am honest. Even in my blindness, I still vanted you.”

“I’m glad you did. I just wanted some real sign from you, anything that told me you felt the same way about me. There had been clues but nothing concrete… I wasn’t brave enough to say how I felt. Your boldness was exactly what I needed to see, it told me the truth.” Kennedy lifted her head and kissed him, slow and deep with that touch of sensuality that turned his head and made him weak in the knees. Her voice dropped down to a whisper against his lips. “Then we fell like a house of cards, tumbling into bed like it was nothing.”

“Destiny has a vay of unfolding like zhat,” Kurt said after drinking from the kiss she had offered him. “At first it vas tunnel vision. I vas so focused on finding Vanda because zhat vas ze mission I had undertaken. My time vith ze monastery vas coming to a close und zhat vas as good of a reason as any to take my leave. But zhen…” Kurt bit his lip for a moment before pushing through his abashment in favor of boldly kissing her again. “... zhen it vas denial. Surely you vere just being kind to me, a poor foreigner who did not know how to dress or use a credit card. You had your pick of any man to call your own. It seemed safer just to keep myself off ze list altogesther.”

“My pick of men who didn’t really see me or listen to me. All the choices that felt like the wrong fit. Kurt, you make me so happy. You nourish my soul and help me remember what really matters.” Kennedy kissed him with a touch more passion, a fiery touch that made her kiss firm and urgent. “I believe anything is possible thanks to you.”

“I feel ze same, Liebling,” said Kurt once they came up for air. “Mein unmögliches für immer glücklich.” He chuckled and darted his eyes sideways as he thought of the English equivalent. “My impossible happily ever after.” Pouring his heart out sent his heart racing again which only made his words flow like a stream. “You hef avakened in me somesthingk zhat vas dead or maybe never even alive at all. I vill nourish you in every vay zhat I can for ze rest of my life.”

“For the rest of our lives,” Kennedy replied in confirmation that she would do the same for him.

Kennedy loved the sweeping romance stories she found in fiction, a place where characters tumbled and swooned over one another with their whole bodies and soul, it was love that changed lives and made anything possible. She would be the first to admit that her standards for love were probably unrealistic when compared to the real world. But then she met Kurt, who was so sweetly devoted to her, who used words that were practically poetry to describe what his heart felt. Thanks to Kurt, Kennedy knew her standards weren’t unobtainable; she just hadn’t found the right person. Wrapped in his arms she knew she had found the person who was her missing piece.

 

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