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Katherine Pryde ([info]set_to_stun) wrote in [info]devolve,
@ 2011-02-10 21:09:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Who: Kitty and Kurt
What: The duel at the Cliffs of Insanity
When: Wednesday afternoon
Where: The Danger Room
Rating: PG-13 for potential swearing and discussion of relationships between adults. Warning if you are disturbed by mention of a twenty year old dating a thirty two year old.



When Kitty went down to meet Kurt in the Danger Room, she felt restless. It had taken them a while to synchronize their schedules after a breakthrough in her locomotive software and his days working off campus, but it was finally here. Some alone time with Kurt, something she considered a commodity, and they'd probably be stuck talking about Pete the whole time.

Not that it bothered her. Now that she'd come to some conclusions--that he was still (more or less) the same, that he was trustworthy (even if they had a ways to go before she completely trusted him), and that she wanted in some way to be with him--it didn't seem like too big of a deal to speak to Kurt about it. The thing that hung over her mind was the fear that he'd judge her or hate Pete or some other upsetting thing. Lorna had taken it really well, with only a minor protective caveat, but Kitty couldn't make herself hope--in vain of course--that Kurt would choose to skip that little protective caveat himself.

As she waited, dressed in all in black like the Dread Pirate himself, she swung her sword around in a few feinting practice maneuvers, her feet moving as quick and light as if she'd been dancing. She prided herself on making realistic (or in this case, accurate) sims, but working on anything fictionally based always ended up being just a little more exciting. Real life scenarios certainly captured her full attention, but the innovations she made typically related to user-interface and specific training goals. In this case, she and Kurt certainly had a training goal--but it was simply to swordfight against one another and that was that. She'd already finished Westley, for rainy days when there was nobody to practice with her, and she'd nearly finished Inigo.

Kitty took a step back and examined her footprints in the soft silty sand. There, clear as day, were her footprints. Perfect. Looking faintly pleased with herself, she walked over to sit down on a rock and wait in earnest for Kurt. The sim opened down below, on the face of the cliff--it required you to climb up a few feet of rope to get to the top. Her sword at her side, Kitty looked up and enjoyed the wide, cloudy, blue (fake) sky.


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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-12 06:51 am UTC (link)
Kitty stood when she heard the door open, with only a second of waiting before Kurt materialized in front of her. There was something that no amount of scientific information could tell her wasn't sort of magical about the way Kurt appeared, all dark blue and bright eyes and a dramatic swirl of smoke. It suited him.

"Thanks," Still grinning from his compliment, she performed a neat curtsy, "At your service."

Looking up at him again, she squinted just slightly against the breeze, grateful that she'd thought to braid her hair before coming in. Slightly to the side, it trailed over her shoulder, lending veracity to the adventuresome look evoked by the pirate-esque attire.

"This look suits you," Kitty said, smiling as she looked over her handiwork. Upon entry into the sim, Kurt had adopted the wardrobe of Inigo Montoya, right down to the most perfectly balanced sword ever forged by a simulation programmer. Her slim fingers twirled in the air as she effected a certain loftiness, "It gives you a certain flair." Teasing showed in her eyes--she'd always been bad at faking anything.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-12 10:52 pm UTC (link)
"You think?" Kurt gave her a fang-baring grin as he straightened, arms extending to either side and sword hanging loosely from his fingers as he invited her inspection. "The leather vest does suit me well," he agreed.

He turned to give her the full effect, then flipped the sword lightly into the air to spin end for end and fall back into his palm with a satisfying weight.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-13 12:32 am UTC (link)
Kitty couldn't help a grin that verged on the beginning of laughter as he performed his trick. She cocked her head slightly, giving him an evaluative look, "You think I can do that?"

Drawing her sword, she neatly balanced it on her fingertips, point towards the sky, and let it balance there for a moment. Then, without warning, she did exactly as he had done, the sword spinning neatly before she caught it--her blue eyes remained trained on the sword, making it apparent this wasn't the effortless stunt he could perform--but she did it.

"I guess you're waiting for me to bring up Pete," Even as she said it, she broke eye-contact with him, turning to cross towards a more accurate starting point for their duel. A stray lock of hair fell across her face and when she looked up at him again, it curved against her cheek.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-13 01:34 am UTC (link)
Kurt took a half step back and watched expectantly. He had absolutely no delusions that she wouldn't try, after all, since she'd brought it up.

"Sehr gut, very neatly done, Schatz." He grinned at her again, his own sword held in a loose 'ready' grip. "You've been practicing...though I hope not with live steel." Not that they ever practiced anything with live steel. Not yet. There was no good reason to challenge Josh's healing with utterly unnecessary wounds, after all.

Her next words, though, wiped the smile rather effectively from his face, though he managed to plaster a reasonable facsimile in its place fairly quickly. The loss of eye contact, really, was much more disturbing than the subject change.

"I have to admit I would like to hear more about this...Pete," he admitted, tone and expression carefully neutral, though his tail gave away his agitation by twitching restlessly near his ankles as he followed her into place.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-13 01:49 am UTC (link)

"Thank you," Kitty replied, letting the remark about live steel fall by the wayside. She was too practical to do any such thing, but once she started weapons training she'd have no qualms about demonstrating her interest in weapons of the live sort.

Kitty noted the alteration of Kurt's expression with a pang of guilt that she quickly shook off. She couldn't protect him from this forever, although she'd certainly tried up til now. Minimal mentions of boyfriends, of dates, of break-ups--that just wasn't a part of their relationship. But now, with Pete arriving in their tiny colony, they'd have to talk about it. Part of her hoped, in her trademark naive fashion, that it would make her relationship with Kurt closer to one of equals, where both parties felt comfortable enough to be honest. Something told her, though, that this probably wasn't the best way to start that change.

"Kurt, you can just go ahead and say it if you hate him on principal," Kitty promised, "He did a completely shitty thing, leaving me the way he did."

She cut diagonals in the air with her sword and held it drawn, "I hated him for a while myself. But hating anyone after the world has ended seems pretty petty and cruel, so I tried to let it go. I even hoped, sometimes, that he was safe."

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-13 02:07 am UTC (link)
Kurt, for his part, didn't even always perceive the inequality. For the most part he accepted that Kitty was a competent adult, capable of running her own life and making her own decisions...but that perception had never really been put to the test of her engaging in a truly adult relationship. At least not at any place or time when he'd had to be aware of it. And from what she'd told him of this Pete person at the time...he had absolutely no difficulty with his answer.

"Oh, I definitely hate him on principle," he conceded, mirroring her swordwork with diagonals of his own, then following it with somewhat more elaborate patterns. "Someone who'd do that in the world as it was...I'm not terribly inclined to assume that the apocalypse is any kind of cure for that sort of personality failing."

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-13 02:23 am UTC (link)
Kurt's admission made her grin and she now mimicked him, albeit more slowly and with a slight error.

"I always thought there was something off about him," Kitty told him now, a false wind blowing her hair until she slipped into phase and became immune to the breeze. "He acted like I'd been taught to, to check a room for exits and to take stock of anyone suspicious. He was good at it, too, because it took me a while to put my finger on it."

She didn't know whether it would help to take Kurt on the mental journey she'd gone through with Pete, but at least it was somewhere to start.

Now, as she spoke, her eyes never left his, "So it made a lot of sense to me when he got here and told me he'd been working for the British government. He was spying on Lockheed Martin."

Anyone who'd come within five feet of her after that job knew how much she hated the company, how futile she'd found it to effect any change. Those closer to her had heard her furious rantings about the rumors she heard of their anti-mutant activities.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-13 06:34 am UTC (link)
Kurt refrained from pointing out that he was quite certain there was something much more than 'off' about him, given the way he'd treated her. He was practicing his restraint. And patience. And letting her finish before he pointed out what a failure of a human being this 'Pete' must be. The rest of her explanation...did actually do much to change his opinion of the man.

"So he was engaged in industrial espionage for the British government and potentially put you in harm's way by becoming involved with you while on assignment?" he clarified, just to make sure he had it right. "And then when his assignment was over he left without so much as a word to you?" The best he could really parse from that was that he apparently hadn't managed to put her directly in harm's way, but he wasn't prepared to necessarily credit the man for that.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-13 07:00 am UTC (link)

Kitty's eyebrows knit together in the beginning of a frown, "Nothing happened to me, Kurt. I didn't get murdered or forced into dark government work."

The person Kitty felt more afraid of him viewing as a failure of a human being was her. That was her primary concern in all this--although preventing Pete from being vilified by one of her closest friends certainly played a supporting role.

Kitty allowed her expression to fall into neutrality, "I don't think he intended to become involved with me, for what it's worth. I pursued him and at a certain point we realized we really did like each other. I didn't mean for it to happen, either."

She was walking a fine line between what was acceptable to say to Kurt and what she'd say to Lorna or Rogue--namely, that she'd intended for it to be a one night thing, which turned into a several night thing, and by then there was the seed of something between them. And without seeing any real reason not to, Kitty had wanted to explore it. Did she know it wasn't her wisest plan ever? Of course. Did she know there was something dangerous about him? Of course. Did she, headstrong at twenty, think it would go so horribly wrong? Honestly, not at all.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-13 10:33 am UTC (link)
Kurt simply arched a dark eyebrow at her, sword held lightly between them and head cocking to one side. "No, it didn't. Though no particular thanks to him, I imagine."

There was so very little chance he'd actually think less of her as a result of this it hardly rated consideration, but it would be rather difficult for him to think less of this Pete character.

"As for who did or didn't mean for what to happen-" He shrugged, then made an almost lazy lunge at her, sword extended and carefully telegraphing the attack so that she could respond. "He was the professional, with all the information at his disposal."

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-13 05:27 pm UTC (link)

Of course it was no thanks to Pete. Kitty almost wanted to smile out of sheer relief. When Kurt had said he'd keep an open mind, he seemed to have meant it. At least as much as she could expect.

To imagine someone else in her place, it was easy to imagine how angry she would be. If some criminal element got involved with Rogue--well, not Rogue, she could handle herself. And it was hard to imagine Lorna getting into this kind of situation. But Kurt--that was easier to imagine. If some vicious trollop of a spy had done to him what Pete had done to her, she'd have her reservations too.

Kitty parried the blow easily, but then again that was what it was for. She performed a neat counter-riposte, still not moving at full speed.

"The thought has occurred to me," Kitty said as she moved, "That of the two of us, he's the one who should have taken the high road and backed off."

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-13 09:56 pm UTC (link)
He'd promised her an open mind, and he was doing his best to deliver on it. Besides, angry as he was about the entire situation - and he was indeed angry, especially after finding out the man had actually been engaged in espionage at the time - it wasn't Kitty he laid the blame on at all. This Pete, on the other hand....

Kurt fell back half a pace, catching her blade against his and letting it slide as he turned his body slightly, then shifting his angle as he used the leverage to throw her rather gently back. She was definitely improving, and he was using much more force and speed than he had when they'd first begun these games, but his movements were still very much tailor-made to her ability to keep up.

"I should hope so, Schatz. You are a great many things, but unobservant and unintelligent are not among them. And I have to admit that I find it very difficult to give the man the benefit of the doubt under the circumstances you've described."

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-14 01:08 am UTC (link)

It wasn't lost on Kitty that he moderated his skill to match hers, which allowed her to test her skills on a reliable partner. The dance of it appealed to her, especially as she'd been beginning to take her other combat training more seriously. There was an art to using a gun and an art to self-defense, but they didn't quite match swordplay. It was recreational, just like dancing, but both remained valuable to her amidst the rest of it. There was no way to shake it.

Kitty took the push back as an opportunity to take one step up, giving her a slight edge as she came at him again.

"I don't want to think what kind of shape the Cruz kids would have--or could have--been in without his help," Kitty pointed out, her tone still fairly neutral as she presented the facts, "And for what it's worth, I like him. I trust him to do the right thing."

It was clear from her guarded expression that something else had popped into her head, something she hadn't said. What she didn't trust Pete with, at least not yet, was any feelings she had for him beyond just what she'd presented to Kurt. Being close to him, believing he would do right by the community: those things were small potatoes compared to letting him in, really letting him in, to her life.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-14 04:23 am UTC (link)
Kurt had always enjoyed the flow of a good fencing match. Almost a dance as two partners advanced and retreated gracefully, parry and riposte, glissande and coupé. He smiled his approval at Kaetzchen's move, leaving her just the tiniest opening as he slid around her.

"No, there's reason to be glad of his presence. And to trust him to do the right thing...sometimes." He cocked his head, more intent on her expression than on the movement of her blade for the moment. "But I think perhaps it might be safer to trust him with lives than with, say, a heart?" he suggested.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-14 05:01 am UTC (link)
Without any living, breathing dance partners, fencing was as good as it got for Kitty. It was good for her footwork, not to mention her acuity.

She took advantage of the opening Kurt offered and moved fast, faster than she'd ever felt comfortable moving in their previous conversations.

His remark made her smile, just a little, but her focus remained on their duel and she advanced towards him. "That's probably true." She conceded, "But I plan on spending time with him."

That was a rather pleasantly non-offensive way of saying "hanging out with him and having lots of sex."

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-14 09:37 am UTC (link)
Kurt flowed easily through the motions of their 'dance', not quite allowing her first touch as he shifted into his own attack now.

"You're a grown woman, Kaetzchen. You make your own decisions and you choose your own...friends. But-" He feinted, then abruptly shifted direction, aiming to catch her sword on his own and disarm her. "I will hurt him if he hurts you." He said it flatly. A simple statement of fact. He meant he'd kill the man, and likely not regret it for any longer than it would take him to dispose of the body. The last two years had hardened him in ways he tried diligently to keep her, or anyone else, from seeing.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-14 06:07 pm UTC (link)

Distracted as she was by Kurt's speech, she almost let him do it. But her footwork had improved and she moved quickly to parry the blow and return the attack. Her form still needed work, but she made up for it with speed.

"That's only acceptable to me," Kitty began, both conversations gaining heat, "If I get to go first. And then, if I leave enough of him behind, you can have at it."

Despite her efforts to make her tone light and teasing, the truth in it was apparent, especially as she moved into another attack, leaving a wide opening for him.

"And besides," She said, the lightness of her voice fading more, "In this situation, I'd be stupid not to see what--whatever it is, with Pete."

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-15 09:28 am UTC (link)
Kurt couldn't keep from grinning as he parried and came back at him. Swordwork was something he'd never not love, and that Kaetzchen had been such a quick study would never not please him, even if the topic of conversation didn't at all.

"That-" He parried her next attack and then lunged in, unable to not take advantage of the opening she'd left him. "Sounds fair enough," he finished. "Though don't," he added, very serious himself. "Allow 'this situation' to...lower your standards." There was a decidedly smaller pool of prospective relationship-fodder, after all, but that didn't mean she couldn't still do better than some emotionally stunted bastard who'd taken advantage of her in the past.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-15 06:24 pm UTC (link)

A grin dawned on Kitty's face when he took the bait and she parried the blow, albeit a little clumsily.

"Kurt," Kitty said gently. The innocence and the protectiveness of saying that touched her, but at the same time she wondered what his proposed alternative might be. "I won't settle, but that doesn't mean I don't want to settle down. Sooner, now, than I might have otherwise."

The man across from her had been her friend for a long, long time. He'd been there for her, he'd gone on adventures with her, he'd offered to teach her something he loved. And if she'd had a little crush on him, off and on throughout the years, well--that was to be expected.

"And I want that for you, too," Kitty added, her voice still soft with affection, "I know it's all...it's harder on you than you let on."

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-16 10:09 pm UTC (link)
Kurt snorted quietly, lips twitching into a self-deprecating smile as he advanced again, turning her as he pressed her methodically back.

"It is hard for all of us, Schatz. The world is a hard place and we all make the best of it we can. You-" He drove in, a quick feint to her left that shifted smoothly to her right before the move was completed. "Take yourself, yes? And I promise I will do the same."

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-16 11:58 pm UTC (link)

Kitty took in his expression with a twist of guilt.

"It could be a lot harder on me," Kitty said, almost to herself. "I could take it." She narrowly missed his advance and clumsily parried his blow. "Damn," Kitty breathed, trying now to stay more focused, "You never stop being better than me."

"You swear?" She asked, needing the vow even if it was meaningless.

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[info]blueisbetter
2011-02-17 07:30 pm UTC (link)
"Perhaps it could and you could, but there is no need for it to be. Not if there is any way to avoid it, yes?" he asked somberly, even as he continued to methodically, almost absently, press his attack. "Do not ask for trouble, Kaetzchen. You, we, already have more than anyone should have to bear."

"As for being better than you...I've been doing this since I was a child, it would be rather sad if I couldn't outmatch you." He flashed a quick grin that faded just as quickly at her last question.

He suppressed a sigh and took a moment before answering, focusing on pressing her back instead. "I said I would, did I not?" he finally asked, smiling at her again, though fainter now.

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[info]set_to_stun
2011-02-18 10:53 pm UTC (link)

"I'm just saying, I could stand to be leaned on a little harder." Kitty replied, her reply almost absent as she focused on defending herself against Kurt's attack.

She knew he was pushing and that she needed to make a stand, but not before she solicited his most solemn swear.

"You did," She agreed simply, "But I want you to swear." Switching to German, grinning at him but with a certain sweetness in her eyes, "Your most solemn vow."

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