Eli likes puzzles. (dashdotdash) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-03-27 01:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, eli, kurt wagner (nightcrawler) |
Who: Eli and Kurt.
What: Stew.
When: After Kurt and Cadence's fight.
Where: Kurt's!
Rating: PG for AAWWWWW.
Status: Complete!
Eli had remembered Kurt’s address and gotten it into her mind to visit him the day after they’d had pancakes. But she was bad at waiting, so she headed out Sunday evening. It was odd; she was slowly growing more and more nocturnal, against her will.
Knocking on his door, she shifted the bag of groceries she had on her shoulder slightly. His fridge had been kind of empty.
Cadence often left leftovers with Kurt, but she hadn’t in a week and he’d run low. And after earlier this evening, it was possible there might never be more of those. Kurt wasn’t ready to see anyone, so he sunk further into the couch and ignored the knock on the door.
She knocked again, calling out lightly. ”Kurt? Sind sie zu hause?”
He sighed, and got up to open the door. His face was damp from tears, but he didn’t bother to try to hide them. “Ja.”
“May I come in?” She blinked when she saw how sad he looked, moving in with him. “Kurt? Are you all right?”
“Cadence saw me,” Kurt replied. He closed the door wearily. “She said I looked evil.”
“Who is - how could someone - “ Eli normally was quite calm, but someone insulting the nicest person she’d met in ages made her shake a little. “I’m making you supper. You do not look evil, you look like yourself.”
“She is...very religious, and has had crisis of faith,” Kurt explained, trying to be patient. He felt like he had to defend her. “I don’t know vhat is going to happen, and right now I’d rather not think about it.”
“You don’t have to think about it. Right now, you need to eat.” Eli’s voice was firm but gentle. “Come sit, I brought things to make you some stew.” Eli smiled at him, a sad little thing. “I mean what I say when I say that you’re handsome, Kurt.”
“Cadence always cooked for me..” It made Kurt hurt worse to think about. He shook his head. “I sound like a mopey teenager.” He reached over and gave Eli a light hug. “Danke, liebchen. Danke.”
“You sound like you. Do not apologize for what you feel, Kurt. Just know that I think what she’s done is ... if I loved someone. Really loved them - and I don’t even know if I can - they could turn into the devil incarnate. And I’d love them still. That’s what love is. It’s unconditional.” Eli motioned with a wooden spoon for a moment before going to unpack the bag of foods. She took out potatoes and started to chop them.
Kurt brought his finger up to his mouth and chewed on it a bit. “Ja.. I know. I know...” He took a seat and rubbed at his face. “I thought she vould have handled it better. I don’t...I never vanted to see someone look at me like that again.”
“I wish I could simply say that she is just surprised. But you should factor that into your reaction. She was likely upset and startled. Perhaps if you give her another chance to see you and become acclimated.” Eli filled up a large pot with stock and chopped veggies, taking a small pan and searing some beef for the stew.
“I’ll think about it,” Kurt replied. He clasped his fingers together and rested his chin on his hands. He watched her cook, wondering why all the women in his life kept trying to make him eat. Was
he too thin?
Eli sang quietly to herself in Swedish as she cooked, turning to look at him. “Still handsome.” She wanted him to feel good about himself again, wanted him to see himself how she did. He was older than her, but somehow she felt like his big sister.
Kurt hadn’t had much of a family. He’d lost his foster family young, and he and his foster sister hadn’t seen each other for nearly fifteen years. Thinking about Amanda made him ache. She would have understood. He knew it.
She turned and put the lid on the pot before moving to hug him, wrapping her arms around him girlishly. “I am sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, mien friend.” He squeezed her arms lightly, then kissed the side of her face. “You didn’t do this. I only hope you never change into something else.. But even if you do, I von’t be afraid of you. Or be angry, or disgusted. Or vhatever.”
“Thank you. You’re a good man.” She tiptoed up to kiss his cheek, smiling brightly. In German, she complimented him. “One of the few I know.”
“Surely you know more,” Kurt asked, staring at her with wide eyes. “That doesn’t seem very fair.” It didn’t sound fair to him either. This girl deserved to be happy and loved.
She shook her head. “My papa is all right, but he’s still in Dusseldorf. He gave up custody of me to Mama in the divorce. And she’s ... okay. I just don’t know many people who’ve stayed by my side. I know Logan? He’s a good man. Foolish, but good.”
“Logan is a very good man. He vould accept me for who I am.” Kurt smiled. “This is a very small vorld, if you know Logan, too. But I’m not surprised. Logan vas alvays a man looking for reasons to feel like a good person. Even though he alvays vas, inside.”
“I’m his apprentice,” Eli beamed. “He’s a bit ... brusque, but it’s funny.” She stroked Kurt’s cheek gently. If only he had a younger sibling.
“So you’re the one, ja?” Kurt nuzzled her hand. “He mentioned a girl he’d apprenticed. Said you
had a good eye.”
“I do? That pleases me to hear.” She grinned at the nuzzling, flexing her fingers slightly.
“Ja. Logan is a big teddy bear underneath it all. I think he’d make a vonderful father if he could find the right voman who can put up with him.” Kurt’s eyes closed. That felt so gut.
He was butting into her hand a little, so she scritched gently. “He will someday. The question is if life lets him keep her.”
“That’s a very perceptive comment, Liebchen. More than you could possibly know.” He smiled at her. “I hope life lets him.”
Eli nodded to herself. “He deserves it. So do you, though. Any woman should be proud to bear your little ones.”
Kurt blushed, though it was scarcely visible under his fur. “Ja? You think so?” He’d ever expected something like that to come out of her mouth.
She nodded emphatically, her own cheeks coloring. “If I were your age, I’d ask you for a kiss.”
“If you vere my age, I’d give you one.” Kurt patted her cheek gently. “You’ll find a svweet boy, or pretty girl, and then you vill have a really nice kiss.”
Eli shook her head. “I don’t share your optimism. But I suppose that’s why I like you.” She returned to stirring the stew.
Kurt smiled at her back. “Someone has to be the optimist. It might as vell be the devil.”
“Well, I’ll tell him that if I see him. I’ll tell him an angel told me that.” Eli stuck out her tongue.
Smiling at her, Kurt shook his head. “I’m no angel. But I think I may need to have...faith.”
“You have more than you think, I feel.” Eli squeezed his hand again.
“I lost it a long time ago.”
“You can find it again, no?”
Kurt shook his head. “I stopped looking.”
“So start again,” she quipped.
He got up and walked over to Eli. He kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”